Local newspapers in Egypt reported yesterday that Dr. Mohamed Maait, former Minister of Finance, will be appointed as Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund for the Arab countries and the Maldives, succeeding Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, whose term at the Fund ends this month.

The sources added that the name of Dr. Maait was agreed upon to succeed Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin at the IMF several weeks ago following consensus with the group of Arab countries.

The official nomination of Dr. Mohamed Maait as Executive Director of the Fund will be announced during the annual meetings which begin on October 25 and end on October 27, together with the full composition of the Fund’s executive directors for all regions.

Dr. Maait, born on August 31, 1962, previously worked as Minister of Finance in Egypt during the period from 2018 to 2024, and prior to that was also Deputy Minister of Finance for Public Treasury Affairs and Head of the Economic Justice Unit from 2016 to 2018. He began government work in 2007 as Assistant to the Minister of Finance & Public Treasury Affairs and Social Insurance. He was also Vice Chairman of Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) until 2015. For the last 6 years, he’s also been the Chairman of the Universal Health Insurance Authority  (UHIA).

A professor of math, insurance and actuarial sciences who taught at universities both in UK and Egypt, Dr. Maait has been a prominent financial reformist in social insurance and public finance, and has worked very closely with the insurance and pension industries.