Honorary Fellow and alumna of St Antony's, Baroness Minouche Shafik DBE, HonFBA has been appointed as the 20th President of Columbia University in the City of New York.

Minouche (DPhil Economics, 1989), is a leading economist whose career has focused on public policy and academia. Currently the Director of the London School of Economics, Baroness Shafik began her career at the World Bank, becoming the bank’s youngest-ever vice president at the age of 36. She later served as Permanent Secretary of the UK’s Department for International Development, where she led an overhaul in British foreign aid; as Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund during the European debt crisis; and as Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, where she sat on all monetary, financial, and prudential policy committees and was responsible for a balance sheet of more than £500 billion.

Born in Alexandria, Egypt, Minouche's family fled the country when she was aged four, during President Gamal Abdel Nasser’s nationalisation program. Her father, a scientist, found work in the United States, where he had done his PhD, and Shafik attended numerous schools in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in economics and politics from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, where she graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa; a Master of Science in economics from the LSE; and a Doctor of Philosophy in economics from St Antony's College, Oxford University.

Minouche is the perfect candidate: a brilliant and able global leader, a community builder, and a preeminent economist who understands the academy and the world beyond it.  What set her apart is her unshakable confidence in the vital role institutions of higher education can and must play in solving the world’s most complex problems. - Jonathan Lavine, chair of the Columbia Board of Trustees

Minouche will take up her appointment on 1st July 2023. Read more on the Columbia website.