Abdullah Abdel Razzaq al-Dardari (; born 1963) is a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Assistant Secretary-General and the

United Nations Development Program The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries Poverty reduction, eliminate poverty and achieve Sustainable development, sustainable economic growth and Human development (economics), hu ...

Assistant Administrator and Director, Regional Bureau for Arab States. Prior to his appointment in 2023, he was the

's Resident Representative in

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. Previously, he worked for the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

. He has also served in several positions in the government of the

Syrian Arab Republic Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. In September 2014, he was appointed as Deputy Executive Secretary of

Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for West Asia (ESCWA; ) is one of five regional commissions under the jurisdiction of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. The role of the Commission is to promote economic and social d ...

. On this occasion, he has been criticized for never publicly criticizing

Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...

’s current Syrian government. He has also been accused of maintaining ambiguous relationships with both the various rebel groups and the Syrian Government.

Early life and education

Mr. Al Dardari was born in 1963 in Damascus, Syria. He is the son of Major General Abdul Razzaq Dardari, commander of the Operations Division in the war of 1973. He holds a Masters in International Political Economy from The

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, a Bachelors in Economics from the

Richmond University Richmond American University London is a private university in London, United Kingdom. Richmond was founded in 1972, by British educator Cyril Taylor. The university awards US degrees from the American state of Delaware, where Richmond is ac ...

and conducted Post Graduate Research at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Yalova University in Istanbul.

Career

Mr. Al Dardari began his career as a journalist in '' Alhayat'', pan-Arab daily. Then he became

UNDP The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...

's Assistant Resident Representative in Syria from 2001 to 2003. He was brought to the government first as Head of the State Planning Commission where he served in from 2003 to 2005. It was there that he started authoring Syria's 10th five-year plan, seen as the blueprint of reforms in Syria from 2006 to 2011. In 2005, Dardari was appointed Deputy Prime Minister of Economic Affairs. Mr. Al Dardari also served as minister of planning from 2006 to 2008. His term ended in March 2011. The office, deputy premiership for economic affairs, was also abolished. He was removed from office due to his conflict with

Rami Makhlouf Rami Makhlouf (; born 10 July 1969) is a Syrian businessman and a maternal cousin of former president Bashar al-Assad. At the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011, he was considered one of Syria's richest and most powerful men. According t ...

's cousin. Mr. Al Dardari joined the United Nations's Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) in September 2011 he began to serve as the Director of the Economic Development and Globalization Division (EDGD) and Chief Economist.

Personal life

Mr. Al Dardari is married and has three children. He speaks fluent English, French and Russian.

References

External links

BBC interviewSyria Today interviewThe Daily Star Article on Arab IntegrationBBC Radio interview on Syria CrisisAssociated Press article on Rebuilding Syria
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dardari, Abdullah 1963 births Living people Deputy prime ministers of Syria Syrian journalists Alumni of the London School of Economics University of Southern California alumni 20th-century Syrian economists People from Damascus 21st-century Syrian economists United Nations