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Egypt central bank governor resigns, becomes adviser to president

August 18, 2022 at 3:42 pm

Tarek Amer, former governor of Egypt’s central bank on 16 October 2019 [Al Drago/Bloomberg/Getty Images]

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi accepted the resignation of the Central Bank’s Governor, Tarek Amer, and issued a decision appointing him as a presidential adviser.

Al-Sisi thanked Amer for his efforts during his tenure, an Egyptian Presidency statement declared.

Amer assumed his duties as the Central Bank’s governor after being appointed by virtue of a presidential decision in November 2015. This was renewed in 2019 and was due to come to an end in November 2023.

Earlier, Gamal Negm, the Central Bank of Egypt’s first deputy governor, said Amer played a major role in setting the international governance rules by restructuring all banks, including the Central Bank of Egypt, which he contributed to developing to raise its performance to international levels.

Amer sparked controversy several times during his presidency by devaluing the Egyptian pound against the US dollar, causing the pound to reach unprecedented lows. This resulted in major inflation hikes, with inflation reaching 14.6 per cent in July. Analysts believe that Amer’s decisions could result in severe economic hardships for the country’s low-income households in addition to the shrinking of the middle class.

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