Al-Mashat will succeed Kuwait’s Rola Dashti, whom Guterres thanked for her “dedicated service” to the organization, while Mourad Wahba will continue as Acting Executive Secretary until she assumes her post.
Her appointment places an Egyptian official at the helm of ESCWA, a key UN regional body tasked with advancing economic and social development across Western Asia through policy coordination, research, and technical support to member states.
An international expert in economic diplomacy, Al-Mashat brings more than 25 years of experience spanning macroeconomic policy, central banking, development cooperation, and climate finance. She served for eight consecutive years between 2018 and 2026 as minister across three portfolios: tourism, where she became Egypt’s first female minister; international cooperation and planning; and, later, economic development and international cooperation.
Before joining the cabinet, she served as sub-governor for monetary policy at the Central Bank of Egypt from 2005 to 2016, where she played a key role in modernizing the bank’s monetary policy framework. She also worked at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C., as a senior economist and advisor to the chief economist, spanning two periods from 2001 to 2018.
Al-Mashat has held board and advisory roles at several international financial institutions, including the World Bank Group, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, the African Development Bank, and the Islamic Development Bank.
Her career has focused on linking policy, finance, and international cooperation, with an emphasis on structural reform, sustainable development, and the mobilization of climate finance. She is also regarded as a strong advocate of multilateralism and partnership-driven development frameworks.
Al-Mashat holds a PhD in economics from the University of Maryland and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the American University in Cairo. She has completed executive programmes at Harvard Kennedy School and Oxford University’s Saïd Business School, and has published research with institutions including the IMF and the London School of Economics.
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