UN Chief Appoints Al-Mashat of as Executive Secretary of Economic, Social Commission for Western Asia

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Rania A. Al-Mashat of Egypt as the next Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA). She succeeds Rola Dashti of Kuwait, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for her dedicated service to the Organization. The Secretary-General also extends his appreciation to Mourad Wahba who will continue to serve as Acting Executive Secretary until Ms. Al-Mashat assumes her position.

Ms. Al-Mashat is an international expert in economic diplomacy, bringing over 25 years of experience in macroeconomic policy; central banking and monetary policy frameworks, sustainable economic and social development; structural and institutional reform, development cooperation, development and climate finance and driving climate action and gender equality through international cooperation and partnerships. She served for eight consecutive years (2018-2026) as Minister across three key portfolios: Tourism (first female), International Cooperation and Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation.

Before her ministerial positions, Ms. Al-Mashat served as Sub-Governor for Monetary Policy at the Central Bank of Egypt (2005-2016), where she played a key role in modernizing the Bank’s monetary policy strategy. Her experience also includes working as Advisor to the Chief Economist and Senior Economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, D.C (2016-2018 and 2001-2005). She has been a board member and advisory member of several international alliances, international financial and development institutions, including the World Bank Group, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, the African Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank.

Al-Mashat has operated at the intersection of policy, finance, international and development cooperation and had to manage complex domestic and geopolitical dynamics that influence institutional strategy and execution. She has led institutional change while maintaining predictability and credibility. A strong advocate of multilateralism, she has a proven track record of advancing impactful, partnership-driven national and global initiatives and has promoted innovative approaches to international cooperation and development finance through country-led multi-stakeholder engagement frameworks.

Al-Mashat holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Maryland, College Park, USA, and a BA in Economics from the American University in Cairo, Egypt. She completed executive education programmes in Leadership and Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, USA and Transformational Leadership from Oxford University’s Saïd Business School, United Kingdom. Her academic contributions, including publications with the IMF and the London School of Economics, reflect her commitment to bridging policy, research and practice. In addition to her native Arabic, she is fluent in English and has knowledge of French.