Ungku Zeti Akhtar binti Ungku Abdul Aziz (born 26 August 1947) was the 7th
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
of
Bank Negara Malaysia
The Central Bank of Malaysia (BNM; ms, Bank Negara Malaysia) is the Malaysian central bank. Established on 26 January 1959 as the Central Bank of Malaya (''Bank Negara Tanah Melayu''), its main purpose is to issue currency, act as banker and ad ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...
's central bank. She served as Governor from 2000 to 2016, and was the first woman in the position. Zeti was one of the members of the
Council of Eminent Persons (CEP) in
Mahathir's second administration, a special advisory council advising the government on economic and financial matters during this transitional period.
Early life
Zeti Akhtar Aziz was born in
Johor Bahru, Johor on 26 August 1947; to father
Ungku Aziz
Ungku Abdul Aziz bin Ungku Abdul Hamid (28 January 1922 – 15 December 2020) was a Malaysian economist and lecturer. He was the 3rd Vice-Chancellor of the University of Malaya from 1968 to 1988 and the 1st General Director of the Council on La ...
, who is of
Malay,
Circassian and
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
descent, and mother Sharifah Azah Mohamed Alsagoff, who was of
Hadhrami Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
and
Malay descent. Her father Ungku Aziz was an economist and former vice-chancellor for the University of Malaya from 1968 to 1988. He received the title "Royal Professor".
She received her early education at the Assunta School,
Petaling Jaya
)
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, image_caption = ''From top, left to right:Skyline of Petaling Jaya, the 1 Utama Mall integrated with Bandar Utama Station, the Kota Darul Ehsan arch, the Petaling ...
in 1964. She then completed her Form 6 in
St. John's Institution, Kuala Lumpur
, motto_translation = Faith and Labour
, streetaddress = Jalan Bukit Nanas
, city = Kuala Lumpur
, postcode = 50250
, country = Malaysia
, coordinates =
...
. In 1970, she received a bachelor's degree in
Economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...
from
University Malaya
The University of Malaya ( ms, Universiti Malaya, UM; abbreviated as UM or informally the Malayan University) is a public university, public research university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the oldest and highest ranking Malaysian i ...
.
She continued her studies in the Department of Economics at the
University of Pennsylvania (Penn), an
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight school ...
university in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
, receiving a PhD in monetary and
international economics
International economics is concerned with the effects upon economic activity from international differences in productive resources and consumer preferences and the international institutions that affect them. It seeks to explain the patterns and ...
in 1978. As part of her PhD
dissertation, she carried out pioneering work on capital flows and its implications for monetary policy.
Career
Zeti began her career as an economic
analyst for the South-East Asia Central Bank Training & Research Center, remaining at that post from 1979 to 1984. She was then appointed Deputy Manager of the Economics Department at
Bank Negara Malaysia
The Central Bank of Malaysia (BNM; ms, Bank Negara Malaysia) is the Malaysian central bank. Established on 26 January 1959 as the Central Bank of Malaya (''Bank Negara Tanah Melayu''), its main purpose is to issue currency, act as banker and ad ...
.
In 2009,
''Global Finance'' named her as one of the world's best central bank chiefs. In 2010 during the national-level
Ma'al Hijrah celebrations held that year, the Malaysian government had awarded her the title of "Tokoh Ma'al Hijrah 1432H" ("Figure of the New Year 1432AH").
On 20 May 2011, Bloomberg columnist William Pesek had picked Zeti, during her post as Bank Negara governor, as one of his top four nominees to head the prestigious
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...
after the position became vacant following the resignation of
Dominique Strauss-Kahn
Dominique Gaston André Strauss-Kahn (; born 25 April 1949), also known as DSK, is a French economist and politician who served as the tenth managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and was a member of the French Socialist P ...
who was arrested in New York, and is presently facing sexual assault charges.
In 2013, she was again accorded “Grade A” among the heads of central banks for the 10th time by the Global Finance magazine. She was awarded alongside Philippines’ central bank governor
Amando Tetangco, Jr.
Amando Maglalang Tetangco Jr. (born November 14, 1952) is a Filipino banker, who served as the third Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). He was the first BSP governor to serve two terms, having been first appointed to the office ...
and Taiwan's Central Bank Governor
Perng Fai-nan
Perng Fai-nan (; born 2 January 1939) is a Taiwanese economist. He served as the Governor of the Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 25 February 1998 to 26 February 2018, the longest serving governor in the bank's history. Perng h ...
, from a list of central bank governors of more than 50 key countries.
Zeti was named the recipient of Central Banking's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016.
She receives The Royal Award for Islamic Finance in honouring the excellence service in Islamic Finance on 3 October 2018.
Zeti who was the Chairman of the
Asian Institute of Finance
The Asian Institute of Finance Berhad (AIF) is a nonprofit organisation in Malaysia. Its main purpose is to enhance human capital development and talent management across the Asian financial services industry. AIF's headquarters is located in Kua ...
has also receives the William “Bill” Seidman Award for Lifetime Achievement in Leadership in the Financial Services Industry for 2018.
On 12 May 2018 just after the
2018 general election (GE14), the new
Pakatan Harapan
The Alliance of Hope ( ms, Pakatan Harapan; abbrev: PH; stylized as HARAPAN) is a Malaysian political coalition consisting of centre-left political parties which was formed in 2015 to succeed the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. It has been the ...
(PH) ruling coalition Prime Minister
Mahathir Mohamad
Mahathir bin Mohamad ( ms, محاضير بن محمد, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; ; born 10 July 1925) is a Malaysian politician, author, and physician who served as the 4th and 7th Prime Minister of Malaysia. He held the office ...
announced that Zeti was appointed as one of the members of the
Council of Eminent Persons (CEP) to serves as advisors to the new PH government.
[ She joined Daim Zainuddin, ]Robert Kuok
Robert Kuok Hock Nien (; Hokchew: ''Guoh24 Houk5 Nieng55''; born 6 October 1923), is a Malaysian business magnate and investor. Since 1973, Kuok has lived in Hong Kong. According to '' Forbes'', his net worth is estimated at $12.6 billion as of ...
, Jomo Kwame Sundaram and Hassan Marican. The purpose of the council was to advise the government on matters pertaining to economic and financial matters during the 100-days transition of power period.
Zeti was appointed the Group Chairman of Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) on 1 July 2018. She was also appointed the Chairman of Sime Darby Property
Sime Darby Property was created through the integration of the property arms under the former Golden Hope Plantations Berhad, Kumpulan Guthrie Berhad, and Sime Darby Berhad. Apart from its 20,763 acres of landbank spanning from Selangor to Johor, ...
. She is the first woman to hold the post.
Personal life
Zeti is married to Tawfiq Ayman and they have two children.
Honours
Honours of Malaysia
* :
** Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (PSM) – Tan Sri (2001)
* :
** Knight Commander of the Order of the Crown of Johor (DPMJ) – Datin Paduka (1998)
** Second Class (Commander) of the Royal Family Order of Johor
The Most Esteemed Royal Family Order of Johor (Bahasa Melayu : ''Darjah Kerabat Johor Yang Amat Dihormati''),World Medal IndexDecorations of Johor/ref>Colecciones Militares (Antonio Prieto Barrio)Decorations of Johor/ref> is a chivalrous order aw ...
(DK II) (2000)
* :
** Grand Knight of the Order of Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang (SSAP) – Dato' Sri (2002)
* :
** Grand Knight of the Order of the Territorial Crown (SUMW) – Datuk Seri Utama (2009)[
]
Foreign honour
* :
** Gold and Silver Star of the Order of the Rising Sun
The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight f ...
(2017)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zeti, Akhtar Aziz
1947 births
Living people
People from Johor
Malaysian Muslims
Hadhrami people
House of Temenggong of Johor
Malaysian people of Circassian descent
Malaysian people of English descent
Malaysian people of Turkish descent
Malaysian people of Yemeni descent
Malaysian people of Malay descent
Malaysian civil servants
Malaysian economists
Malaysian bankers
Governors of the Central Bank of Malaysia
University of Malaya alumni
Second Classes of the Royal Family Order of Johor
Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia
Knights Commander of the Order of the Crown of Johor