Ezra Suruma (born 11 November 1945), is a

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The south ...

n economist, banker, and academic. He became the chancellor of

Makerere University Makerere University, Kampala (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922. It became an independent national university in 1970. Today, Makerere University is composed of n ...

in January 2016. He formerly served as a senior adviser to the

president of Uganda The president of the Republic of Uganda is the head of state and the head of government of Uganda. The president leads the Executive (government), executive branch of the government of Uganda and is the commander-in-chief of the Uganda People's ...

on finance and economic planning, a position he held from 16 February 2009 until 15 January 2016. Previously, he was a visiting fellow at the

Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as simply Brookings, is an American research group founded in 1916. Located on Think Tank Row in Washington, D.C., the organization conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in e ...

, in Washington, D. C., at the Africa Growth Initiative division of the institution. He was appointed to that position in April 2010.

Background and education

He was born in

Kabale District Kabale District is a district in the Western Region of Uganda. Kabale hosts the district headquarters. It was originally part of Kigezi District, before the districts of Rukungiri, Kanungu, Kisoro, Rubanda and Rukiga and were excised to form s ...

in 1945. He holds a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

in finance from

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

in New York City, obtained in 1969. His

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. ...

degree in economics was obtained in 1972, also from Fordham University. His

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in economics was obtained in 1976 from the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...

. He also has a master's degree in

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to practical disciplines (includin ...

and one in international banking.

Work history

Before his government and private sector work, Suruma worked as a professor of economics and management at

and at

Florida A&M University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the U ...

. In 1987, he joined the Bank of Uganda, the country's

central bank A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the currency and monetary policy of a country or monetary union, and oversees their commercial banking system. In contrast to a commercial bank, a centra ...

, as the director of research, serving in that capacity until 1990. From 1990 until 1993, he served as the deputy governor of the Bank of Uganda. In 1993, he left that position and joined the Uganda Commercial Bank as the chairman and managing director, serving in that capacity until 1996. In 2005, he was appointed minister of finance, planning and economic development. He served in that capacity until 16 February 2009, when he was appointed senior presidential adviser on finance and economic planning. The international banking magazine

The Banker ''The Banker'' is an English-language monthly international financial affairs publication owned by ''The Financial Times'' Ltd. and edited in London, United Kingdom. The magazine was first published in January 1926 through founding Editor, Brend ...

chose Suruma to receive the "Best Finance Minister of Africa Award" for 2008. During his time as

minister of finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

, he was a strong promoter of Uganda's banking industry and was instrumental in the planning and initiation of Uganda's micro finance project that helps small farmers and businesses obtain low interest loans.

Personal details

Suruma is married and has four children, the eldest from his first marriage, and one grandchild. He is also raising the orphaned children of his two younger brothers. He was a shareholder in the National Bank of Commerce (Uganda) (NCBU), and was a director of the bank. NBCU was a small indigenous commercial bank that was closed by the Bank of Uganda on 27 September 2012. In 2011, Suruma and other investors started UGAFODE Microfinance Limited, a Tier III, deposit-taking microfinance institution, supervised by the Bank of Uganda.

References

External links

Profile of Professor Ezra Suruma
{{DEFAULTSORT:Suruma, Ezra 1945 births Living people Fordham University alumni Florida A&M University faculty University of Connecticut alumni People from Western Region, Uganda Makerere University academics Ugandan economists People from Kabale District Finance Ministers of Uganda Government ministers of Uganda