Youssef Boutros Ghali
Encyclopedia
Youssef Raouf Boutros Ghali (يوسف بطرس غالي) (born August 20, 1952) is a former Minister of Finance of Egypt
. He served from 2004 to 2011. He was succeeded by Samir Radwan
on 31 January 2011.
, and received his education at Cairo University
where he earned a Bachelor of Arts
in economics
in 1974. He subsequently earned a Doctor of Philosophy
in economics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
in 1981. He was also a Lecturer and Assistant during his stay at MIT. His uncle, Dr. Boutros Boutros Ghali, is a former Secretary-General of the United Nations
.
as an EP (Economist Program) and progressed to become Senior Economist. He worked in both area and functional departments: first in the Middle East Department (MED) and later in Policy and Development Review (PDR) on Asian, Latin American and Middle Eastern countries. He gained profound knowledge of the economic problems and policy challenges of countries as diverse as the Sudan, the Ivory Coast, the Philippines, China, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico. He also did background work on the Latin American debt crisis
of the early 1980s.
After leaving the Fund in 1986, Boutros-Ghali was appointed as Economic Advisor to Egypt's Prime Minister and to the Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt
(1986–1993), where he took a prominent role in negotiating the 1987 and 1991 stand-by arrangements with the Fund and the debt rescheduling agreements with the Paris Club. The reform programs initiated then ushered a turnaround in the Egyptian economy and laid the groundwork for economic reforms that are being pursued to this day. Thereafter, Boutros-Ghali was appointed Minister of State for the Council of Ministers and Minister for International Cooperation (1993–1996), where he continued to be active in overseeing program relationship between Egypt and the Fund. He was subsequently named Minister of State for Economic Affairs (1996–1997). Thereafter he assumed the position of Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade (1997–2001), and later Minister of Foreign Trade (2001–2004).
A firm advocate of trade liberalization, as Minister of Foreign Trade, Boutros-Ghali participated in the Seattle, Doha, and Cancun ministerial meetings of the World Trade Organization
(WTO), and played a prominent role in launching the Doha round
. He was also instrumental in concluding the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership Agreement between Egypt and the European Union in 1998. Through the joint body created by the U.S.-Egypt Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), Boutros-Ghali was active in advancing the negotiations on the free trade agreement between Egypt and United States. He also headed the negotiations leading to the Qualified Industrial Zone (QIZ) agreement between Egypt, the United States, and Israel, established in 2004.
As Minister of Finance, Boutros-Ghali headed the Ministerial Economic Committee in charge of overseeing the design and implementation of Egypt’s economic reform programs. He is credited with implementing a series of reforms that helped modernize and reinvigorate the Egyptian economy and deepen its global integration. Chief among these is a major income tax and trade reforms, coupled with deregulation and liberalization in key areas of economic activity. The tax reform program was hailed as one of the most successful reforms among developing countries, which earned Egypt the position of top reformer among developing countries in 2007 by the World Bank.
Boutros-Ghali received the Emerging Markets award for Finance Minister of the Year for the Middle East region twice (2005 and 2006). He also received an honorary Doctoral Degree from the Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh on 7 July 2008.
On 6 October 2008, Boutros-Ghali was elected chair of the IMF's policy-setting committee. He beat India's Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram to chair the 24-member International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC). Boutros-Ghali is well suited to assume the chairmanship of the IMFC. Having served both at the Fund and as a prominent government official, he is well aware of the concerns of the membership and of the reforms needed at the Fund. As IMFC Chairman, Boutros-Ghali will work to promote consensus on the Fund’s most pressing reform agenda, particularly on governance reforms to enhance legitimacy and evenhandedness in surveillance, establishing a new and sustainable income model for the Fund, and adapting our instruments to better suit the evolving needs of the membership in a global economy.
's responses to the 2011 Egyptian protests, Boutros-Ghali was replaced as Minister of Finance by Samir Radwan
. Then, on 4 February 2011 the IMF reported that Boutros-Ghali had resigned the Chairmanship of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC).
The morning of 11 February 2011, prior to Mubarak's resignation, the VIP lounge at Cairo airport opened to accommodate Boutros-Ghali and his wife before they flew to Lebanon
while other ex-regime officials, including Mubarak himself, have been targeted with travel bans, asset freezes, and even arrests. Boutros-Ghali was charged with corruption and an Interpol international arrest warrant was issued. On 4 June 2011, Ghali was found guilty in absentia
and sentenced to imprisonment for 30 years. He was also ordered to return 60 million Egyptian pounds to the state.
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. He served from 2004 to 2011. He was succeeded by Samir Radwan
Samir Radwan
Samir Radwan is an Egyptian politician, the current Minister of the Finance, appointed at the end of January 2011 by Hosni Mubarak. He is an economist with a liberal viewpoint, interested in employment and human development issues....
on 31 January 2011.
Education
Youssef Boutros-Ghali was born in CairoCairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, and received his education at Cairo University
Cairo University
Cairo University is a public university located in Giza, Egypt.The university was founded on December 21, 1908, as the result of an effort to establish a national center for educational thought...
where he earned a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
in 1974. He subsequently earned a Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in economics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
in 1981. He was also a Lecturer and Assistant during his stay at MIT. His uncle, Dr. Boutros Boutros Ghali, is a former Secretary-General of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
.
Economist and ministerial roles
Upon graduation, Boutros-Ghali joined the International Monetary FundInternational Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
as an EP (Economist Program) and progressed to become Senior Economist. He worked in both area and functional departments: first in the Middle East Department (MED) and later in Policy and Development Review (PDR) on Asian, Latin American and Middle Eastern countries. He gained profound knowledge of the economic problems and policy challenges of countries as diverse as the Sudan, the Ivory Coast, the Philippines, China, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico. He also did background work on the Latin American debt crisis
Latin American debt crisis
The Latin American debt crisis was a financial crisis that occurred in the early 1980s , often known as the "lost decade", when Latin American countries reached a point where their foreign debt exceeded their earning power and they were not able to repay it.-Origins:In the 1960s and 1970s many...
of the early 1980s.
After leaving the Fund in 1986, Boutros-Ghali was appointed as Economic Advisor to Egypt's Prime Minister and to the Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt
Central Bank of Egypt
The Central Bank of Egypt is the central bank of Egypt. The bank's paid-up capital is 1000 million Egyptian pounds. According to its website, the CBE:*Regulates banks and the banking system of Egypt...
(1986–1993), where he took a prominent role in negotiating the 1987 and 1991 stand-by arrangements with the Fund and the debt rescheduling agreements with the Paris Club. The reform programs initiated then ushered a turnaround in the Egyptian economy and laid the groundwork for economic reforms that are being pursued to this day. Thereafter, Boutros-Ghali was appointed Minister of State for the Council of Ministers and Minister for International Cooperation (1993–1996), where he continued to be active in overseeing program relationship between Egypt and the Fund. He was subsequently named Minister of State for Economic Affairs (1996–1997). Thereafter he assumed the position of Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade (1997–2001), and later Minister of Foreign Trade (2001–2004).
A firm advocate of trade liberalization, as Minister of Foreign Trade, Boutros-Ghali participated in the Seattle, Doha, and Cancun ministerial meetings of the World Trade Organization
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...
(WTO), and played a prominent role in launching the Doha round
Doha round
The Doha Development Round or Doha Development Agenda is the current trade-negotiation round of the World Trade Organization which commenced in November 2001. Its objective is to lower trade barriers around the world, which will help facilitate the increase of global trade...
. He was also instrumental in concluding the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership Agreement between Egypt and the European Union in 1998. Through the joint body created by the U.S.-Egypt Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), Boutros-Ghali was active in advancing the negotiations on the free trade agreement between Egypt and United States. He also headed the negotiations leading to the Qualified Industrial Zone (QIZ) agreement between Egypt, the United States, and Israel, established in 2004.
As Minister of Finance, Boutros-Ghali headed the Ministerial Economic Committee in charge of overseeing the design and implementation of Egypt’s economic reform programs. He is credited with implementing a series of reforms that helped modernize and reinvigorate the Egyptian economy and deepen its global integration. Chief among these is a major income tax and trade reforms, coupled with deregulation and liberalization in key areas of economic activity. The tax reform program was hailed as one of the most successful reforms among developing countries, which earned Egypt the position of top reformer among developing countries in 2007 by the World Bank.
Boutros-Ghali received the Emerging Markets award for Finance Minister of the Year for the Middle East region twice (2005 and 2006). He also received an honorary Doctoral Degree from the Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh on 7 July 2008.
On 6 October 2008, Boutros-Ghali was elected chair of the IMF's policy-setting committee. He beat India's Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram to chair the 24-member International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC). Boutros-Ghali is well suited to assume the chairmanship of the IMFC. Having served both at the Fund and as a prominent government official, he is well aware of the concerns of the membership and of the reforms needed at the Fund. As IMFC Chairman, Boutros-Ghali will work to promote consensus on the Fund’s most pressing reform agenda, particularly on governance reforms to enhance legitimacy and evenhandedness in surveillance, establishing a new and sustainable income model for the Fund, and adapting our instruments to better suit the evolving needs of the membership in a global economy.
Charges of corruption
On the 31st of January 2011, as part of Hosni MubarakHosni Mubarak
Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak is a former Egyptian politician and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011....
's responses to the 2011 Egyptian protests, Boutros-Ghali was replaced as Minister of Finance by Samir Radwan
Samir Radwan
Samir Radwan is an Egyptian politician, the current Minister of the Finance, appointed at the end of January 2011 by Hosni Mubarak. He is an economist with a liberal viewpoint, interested in employment and human development issues....
. Then, on 4 February 2011 the IMF reported that Boutros-Ghali had resigned the Chairmanship of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC).
The morning of 11 February 2011, prior to Mubarak's resignation, the VIP lounge at Cairo airport opened to accommodate Boutros-Ghali and his wife before they flew to Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
while other ex-regime officials, including Mubarak himself, have been targeted with travel bans, asset freezes, and even arrests. Boutros-Ghali was charged with corruption and an Interpol international arrest warrant was issued. On 4 June 2011, Ghali was found guilty in absentia
In absentia
In absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...
and sentenced to imprisonment for 30 years. He was also ordered to return 60 million Egyptian pounds to the state.