Sinan Al-Shabibi – former governor of the Central Bank of Iraq dies
The former Iraqi Central Bank Governor, Sinan al-Shabibi.
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Iraqi economist and former governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Dr. Sinan Al-Shabibi passed away Saturday.
Born in Baghdad in 1941, he was the son of Mohammed Ridha Al-Shabibi, an influential Iraqi figure who served in Chamber of Deputies of Iraq from the 1920s-1940s as well as the Minister of Education.
While serving in the Central Bank of Iraq (September 2003 to October 2012), Al-Shabibi modernized the banking system, made drastic leaps towards bringing the technology up-to-date and replaced the Iraqi Dinar.
He was instrumental in linking the Central Bank of Iraq with World Bank programs and the International Monetary Fund.
It was Al-Shabibi who hand selected the late, Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid in 2010 to design the new Central Bank in Baghdad.
A well respected Iraqi figure, Al-Shabibi was a national treasure during a period of immense challenges in Iraqi politics. And although he faced adversity in his final years, he never gave up on his Iraq and the urgency to the idea of pursuing a true purpose to his nation. Despite the quagmire of Iraqi politics, Al-Shabibi stood fast against all odds to protect the wealth and independence of the Central Bank of Iraq and continued to fight for what he believed in. Perhaps this is his greatest legacy.