Dr. Nasser H. Saidi is the Chief Economist and Head of External Relations at the Dubai International Financial Centre Authority (DIFCA) and Executive Director of the Hawkamah-Institute for Corporate Governance at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). He is a member of the IMF’s Regional Advisory Group for MENA and Co-Chair of the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) MENA Corporate Governance Working Group. He served as the Data Protection Commissioner of DIFC from January to August 2007. Dr. Saidi was recently appointed as the Head of External Relations Department at DIFC, leading the external links with governments, central banks, financial centre counterparts as well as international organisations. In 2010, he was named among the 50 most influential Arabs in the World by The Middle East magazine, for the second year.

He was the Minister of Economy and Trade and Minister of Industry of Lebanon between 1998 and 2000. He was the First Vice-Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon for two successive mandates, 1993-1998 and 1998-2003. He was a Member of the UN Committee for Development Policy (UNCDP) for two mandates over the period 2000-2006, a position to which he was appointed by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, in his personal capacity.

He has written a number of books and publications addressing macroeconomic, capital market development and international economic issues in Lebanon and the region and is the author of a book, “Corporate Governance in the MENA countries: Improving Transparency & Disclosure”. His research interests include macroeconomics, financial market development, payment systems and international economic policy, and information and communication technology (ICT).

Dr. Saidi was a private banker and served as an economic adviser and director to a number of central banks and financial institutions in Arab countries, Europe and Central and Latin America. Prior to his public career, Dr. Saidi pursued a career as an academic, serving as a Professor of Economics at the Department of Economics in the University of Chicago, the Institut Universitaire de Hautes Etudes Internationales (Geneva, CH), and the Université de Genève. He also served as a lecturer at the American University of Beirut and the Université St. Joseph in Beirut.

Dr. Saidi holds a Ph.D. and a M.A. in Economics from the University of Rochester in the U.S.A, a M.Sc. from University College, London University and a B.A. from the American University of Beirut.