Eight astonishing facts about Sidi Ould Tah who will succeed Adesina at AfDB

By Paul Dada

Former  Mauritania’s Minister of Economy and Finance, Dr. Sidi Ould Tah, was on Thursday, elected to take over as  the 9th President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group.

The former Director-General of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) will  take over in September fromNigeria’s Akinwumi Adesina, who has led the bank for two terms since 2015.

Tah emerged the winner at the election which took place at the bank’s headquarters in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

He was elected ahead of four other contenders  by the Bank’s Board of Governors, comprising Finance and Economy Ministers or Central Bank Governors of the Bank Group’s 81 regional and non-regional member countries.

Here are 10 astonishing facts about Dr. Sidi Ould Tah

1. Sidi Ould Tah was  born on December 31, 1964 in Mederdra. He was born into a family of French-speaking teachers in southeastern Mauritania.

2. He began his studies at the University of Nouakchott. He later moved to France.

3. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis, France. He also holds  a DEA in eEconomics from the University of Paris.

4. He began his career at the Mauritanian Bank for Development and Commerce (BMDC).

5. In 1996, he joined the Arab Authority for Investment and Agricultural Development, Khartoum. He later took over as head of the Islamic Development Bank (EBID) in Saudi Arabia.

6. In 2006, he was appointed adviser to the presidency in Mauritania.

7. In 2008, he was appointed Minister of Economy and Finance of Mauritania

8. In 2015, he was elected Director- General of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) where he served 10 years.