Arabic: حازم الببلاوي Born: Oct. 17, 1936 Hazem al-Beblawi is a prominent writer and economist. He was appointed Minister of Finance on July 17, 2011 by Prime Minister Essam Sharaf. He succeeds Samir Radwan. Belbawy holds several degrees, including a Bachelor of Laws with Honors, graduate diplomas in political economy (1958), public law (Cairo University – 1959), economic sciences (University of Grenoble – 1961), and a PhD in Economic Sciences from the University of Paris (1964). He was an advisor to the Arab Monetary Fund in Abu Dhabi and has published several books. Beblawi has received numerous awards and honors from states and universities in Europe and Arab world. He formerly served as Under-Secretary-General of the Unite United Nations Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia; the Chairman of the Egyptian Bank for Export Development; he worked as an economist in the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development; was adviser to the Minister of Finance in Kuwait; Director of Economic Research Department of the Ministry of Finance of Kuwait; and director of economic management in the Industrial Bank of Kuwait. Beblawi also served as adviser to the Minister of Planning in Cairo, as a visiting professor at the University of Sorbonne, the President of economic unity at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, and Visiting Professor at the University of California in Los Angeles.
