Stories of a World Banker

Over a quarter-century ago, the author of the Book Jamal Saghir landed in Washington, D.C. to join the World Bank. It was a year after the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the dismantling of the former Soviet Union, and the reconfiguration of the so-called New World Order. The world was going through major transformations, with some countries being dismantled, others created, and still others merged. It was the end of the Cold War and the beginning of the ascendancy of international financial institutions and implementation of the “Washington consensus.”

He was 34 years old and had been appointed by the World Bank as an expert in privatization and state-owned enterprise reforms. He was bringing hands-on experience in these reforms from experience in Canada and Tunisia, and being an economist was a skill attractive to the Bank. Still, he was just an economist suddenly plunged into the world of international finance, politics, and geo-economic reconfiguration. What was supposed to be a three-year assignment ended up as a 26-year journey—and as a unique experience, opportunity, and lifestyle.