Islamabad – The world of finance is in mourning following the news that Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, the renowned economist and former governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, passed away on Saturday at the age of 71.
Dr. Akhtar, who succumbed to cardiac arrest, was a giant in global and national financial management.
Her career was long, productive, and she overcame many obstacles, but the most significant of them was becoming the first woman in the history of Pakistan to become the leader of the central bank.
Her death is the end of a life of a leader whose life was dedicated to enhancing economic governance and institutional integrity.
A Pioneer for Women in Finance
Dr. Shamshad Akhtar became the first female to become the 14th governor of the State Bank in 2006.
Her appointment was both a personal and national victory for women. Her experience, outside of the central bank, was sought in times of political change; she was made the federal finance minister in caretaker governments preceding both the 2018 and 2024 general elections.
Her steadiness and well-grounded knowledge of markets led to her becoming a reliable consultant in some of the most difficult economic times in the country.
A Global Voice for Development
Her impact spread beyond Pakistan. Dr. Shamshad Akhtar has worked in outstanding positions in major international organizations as the vice president of the World Bank and the executive secretary of the United Nations ESCAP.
Before her historic tenure at the State Bank, she worked for many years at the Asian Development Bank, where she headed the units of Southeast, East, and Central Asia.
These positions gave her an opportunity to influence development policies that changed the lives of millions of people around the world, making her a world-class strategist.
Education and National Tribute
She was born in Hyderabad and grew up in Karachi and Islamabad, and her academic life was equally impressive as her career path.
She attained a PhD in the United Kingdom and a master’s degree in such well-recognized schools as the University of Sussex and Quaid-i-Azam University.
After her death, President Asif Ali Zardari honored Dr. Shamshad Akhtar in the form of a tribute and expressed the great contribution she had made to the world of economics.
