Patrick Ngugi Njoroge is a Kenyan economist, banker and the ninth governor of the

Central Bank of Kenya The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) () is the monetary authority of Kenya. Its head office is located in Nairobi. CBK was founded by in 1966 after the dissolution of East African Currency Board (EACB). Dr. Kamau Thugge, CBS is the current Governor a ...

Background and education

Njoroge was born in Murang’a, Kenya, . His father was an official in the education department and his mother was a teacher. Njoroge credits his parents involvement in education with inspiring his passion for learning. Njoroge attended Mangu High School from 1973 until 1976, for his O-Level education. From 1977 until 1978, he attended Strathmore College for his A-Level studies. He entered the

University of Nairobi The University of Nairobi (uonbi or UoN; ) is a college, collegiate research university based in Nairobi and is the largest List of universities and colleges in Kenya, university in Kenya. Although its history as an educational institution dat ...

in 1979, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics in 1983 and a Master of Arts in Economics in 1985. From 1987 until 1993, he studied at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, graduating with a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

in economics. While at Yale, Njoroge studied under professors such as William Brainard,

Jim Tobin James Anthony Tobin (December 27, 1912 – May 19, 1969), known as "Abba Dabba", was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Bees/Braves and Detroit Tigers from 1937 to 1945. With the Bo ...

, and

Robert J. Shiller Robert James Shiller (born March 29, 1946) is an American economist, academic, and author. As of 2022, he served as a Sterling Professor of Economics at Yale University and is a fellow at the Yale School of Management's International Center fo ...

Career

Following his master's degree, he worked in Nairobi as a planning officer at the Kenyan Ministry of Planning from October 1985 until August 1987. Following his PhD studies, he worked as an economist at the Kenyan Ministry of Finance from March 1993 until December 1994. From April 1995 until October 2005, he worked at the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

(IMF) in

Washington, D. C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, first as an economist and later as a senior economist. From November 2005 until December 2006, he served as the IMF mission chief for

Dominica Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...

. He then served as the deputy division chief, Finance Department, at the IMF, from December 2006 until December 2012, based in Washington, D. C. from December 2012 until June 2015, he served as advisor to the deputy managing director of the IMF.

Central Bank of Kenya (CBK)

He was nominated to be the governor of the Central Bank of Kenya by

Uhuru Kenyatta Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta ( born 26 October 1961) is a Kenyan politician who served as the fourth president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022. The son of Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya's first president, he previously served as Prime Minister of Kenya, Deputy Pri ...

, the

president of Kenya The president of the Republic of Kenya () is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Kenya. The president is also the head of the executive branch of the Government of Kenya and is the commander-in-chief of the Kenya De ...

, on 2 June 2015. After vetting by the parliamentary committee on Finance, Trade and Planning on 17 June 2015, he was approved by the

parliament of Kenya The Parliament of Kenya is the bicameral legislature of Kenya. It is based at Parliament Buildings in Nairobi and consists of two houses. The upper house is the Senate, and the lower house is the National Assembly. See also * Politics of K ...

on 18 June 2015. He assumed office effective 19 June 2015 where he served for eight years until 19 June 2023 when he was succeeded by Dr.

Kamau Thugge Kamau Thugge (born 1st August, 1957) is a Kenyan economist, banker, and the tenth and current governor of the Central Bank of Kenya. He assumed office on 19 June 2023. Background and education Thugge was born in Nyeri, Kenya, in 1957. He stud ...

. On 13 October 2015 the Central Bank of Kenya under his leadership placed Imperial Bank into receivership. In November 2018,

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 ...

Secretary General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

António Guterres appointed Njoroge to the United Nations Task Force on Digital Financing of

Sustainable Development Goals The ''2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development'', adopted by all United Nations (UN) members in 2015, created 17 world Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The aim of these global goals is "peace and prosperity for people and the planet" – wh ...

, co-chaired by

Maria Ramos Maria da Conceição das Neves Calha Ramos (born 1959) is a South African businesswoman and former civil servant. She is currently the group chair of Standard Chartered, a position she has held since May 2025. Ramos was the chief executive o ...

and

Achim Steiner Achim Steiner (born 17 May 1961) is a Brazilian-German environmentalist who currently serves as the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme and vice-chair of United Nations Sustainable Development Group. Before joining UNDP, ...

. Under his leadership, the CBK issued direct benefit payments to help financially suffering Kenyans amid the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Njoroge has stated that the

financial technology Financial technology (abbreviated as fintech) refers to the application of innovative technologies to products and services in the financial industry. This broad term encompasses a wide array of technological advancements in financial services, ...

industry (FinTech) has been a boon for financial inclusion of the general population.

Other activities

(

IMF The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of la ...

), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors *

Financial Stability Board The Financial Stability Board (FSB) is an international body that monitors and makes recommendations about the global financial system. It was established in the 2009 G20 Pittsburgh Summit as a successor to the Financial Stability Forum (FSF) ...

(FSB), Member of the Regional Consultative Group for Sub-Saharan Africa

Personal life

Njoroge is of the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

faith and a numerary member of

Opus Dei is an institution of the Catholic Church that was founded in Spain in 1928 by Josemaría Escrivá. Its stated mission is to help its lay and clerical members seek holiness in their everyday occupations and societies. Opus Dei is officially r ...

. He is also the brother of Anthony Muheria the Archbishop of Nyeri Catholic diocese.

References

External links

Central Bank of Kenya Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Njoroge, Patrick Governors of the Central Bank of Kenya 1961 births Living people Central Bank of Kenya people Kikuyu people 20th-century Kenyan economists Kenyan Roman Catholics Opus Dei members Yale University alumni University of Nairobi alumni 21st-century Kenyan economists People from Murang'a County Alumni of Strathmore School