Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: محمد سليمان الجاسر‎; born 1955) is a Saudi economist who is currently the chairman of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) group former advisor at the General Secretariat of the

Council of Ministers of Saudi Arabia The Saudi Council of Ministers ( ''Majlis al-Wuzarā' as-Su'ūdī'') is the Cabinet (government), cabinet of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is led by the King of Saudi Arabia, King. The council consists of the king, the Crown Prince of Saudi Ar ...

and chairman of the General Authority for Competition. He served as minister of economy and planning between 2011 and 2015. He also previously served as governor and board chairman of the Saudi Arabian Central Bank (SAMA) between 2009 and 2011. Prior to that, he served as executive director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) between 1990 and 1995.

Early life and education

Al Jasser was born in

Buraidah Buraydah or Buraidah (Arabic: بريدة) is the capital and largest city of Al-Qassim Province in north-central Saudi Arabia. Renowned as the agricultural capital of Saudi Arabia and often referred to as the food basket of the Kingdom, the cit ...

in 1955. He studied economics at

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

(BA in 1979), and the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Riverside, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of Cali ...

(MA in 1981 and PhD in 1986).

Career

Al Jasser began his career at the Saudi finance ministry in 1981. He was named the executive director for Saudi Arabia at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 1988. His tenure lasted until 1995. He joined the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) in 1995 as vice governor of SAMA and vice chairman of the SAMA board. He served in this post until 2009. He was also named as acting deputy minister of finance and national economy for budget and organization in 1995. He served as the director of the Saudi Arabian Mining Company until 2009. Al Jasser became governor of SAMA in February 2009, replacing Hamad Al Sayari. He was also appointed the first chairman of the Gulf Monetary Council on 30 March 2010. The task of this organisation is to establish a united central bank and common currency for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). He also chaired state-controlled Saudi Telecom, and is a member on the boards of various national and regional finance institutions including the Islamic Development Bank and

Arab Monetary Fund The Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) is a regional Arab world, Arab organization, a working sub-organization of the Arab League. It was founded 1976, and has been operational since 1977. History The first president and director of the Arab Monetary ...

. Al Jasser was appointed minister of economy and planning on 13 December 2011, replacing Khalid bin Mohammed Al Gosaibi, who had been in the post since 2003. Al Jasser's term as minister of economy and planning ended on 29 April 2015 when he was replaced by Adel Fakeih in the post.

Recognition and honors

Al Jasser is described as a well-regarded technocrat by James Reeve, senior economist at

Samba Financial Group Samba Financial Group SJSC, formerly known as The Saudi American Bank, was a multinational banking firm based in Saudi Arabia. The combined institution had 66 branches in the Kingdom. Samba merged with NCB to form Saudi National Bank on 1 April ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Al Jasser is the recipient of the King Abdulaziz Medal of the First Order. In 2009, he was named by ''the Middle East'' as one of the 50 most influential Arabs in the world.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jasser, Muhammed Al 21st-century Saudi Arabian politicians 1955 births Economy ministers of Saudi Arabia Planning ministers of Saudi Arabia Governors of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency Living people People from Buraidah Leaders of organizations San Diego State University alumni Saudi Arabian economists University of California, Riverside alumni