Ishrat Hussain - Career

Career

Husain joined the elite Civil Service of Pakistan in 1964 and served in the field and also held mid-level policy making positions in the Finance, Planning and Development departments before moving to Washington in 1979 to join the World Bank as an Economist in West Africa Programs Department. He became the Bank’s Resident Representative to Nigeria in 1983 and led the Bank’s team that assisted Nigeria in formulating its first ever structural Adjustment program in 1986. On his return to headquarters, he headed the Bank’s Debt and International Finance Division and contributed to the development of Bank’s strategy that led to World Bank and International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) participation in the Brady Initiative for Debt Reduction. As Chief Economist for Africa between 1991–94 and later as Chief Economist for East Asia and Pacific Region he guided and supervised the Bank’s analytical work on the countries in these regions. In 1997 he was named the Country Director for Central Asian Republics and managed the World Bank’s relations, programs and policies with these countries. Earlier, he was the director of Poverty and Social Policy Department. He was responsible for the Bank's policies and strategy development in such areas as Poverty Reduction, Gender Relations and Dynamics, NGOs, and Reform within the Public Sector. He was the Chairperson of the Public Sector Group.