Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia.

Tan Sri Dato' Sri Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz is the 7th and current governor of Bank Negara Malaysia, Malaysia's central bank. She has been governor since May 2000, and was the first woman in the position.

Early life [edit]

Zeti Akhtar Aziz was born in Johor Bahru, Johor on 27/8/1947, to father Royal Professor Ungku Aziz, who is of Malay, Circassian^[1][2] and English^[3] descent and mother Sharifah Azah Mohamed Alsagoff, who was of Hadhrami Arab and Malay descent.^[4][5]

Zeti received early education at Assunta High School, Petaling Jaya in 1958. She then did her Form 6 in St. John's Institution, Kuala Lumpur. In 1970, she received a Bachelor's degree in Economics from University Malaya. She subsequently continued her studies in the Department of Economics at the University of Pennsylvania, receiving a PhD in monetary and international economics. As part of her PhD dissertation she carried out pioneering work on capital flows and its implications for monetary policy.

Career [edit]

Zeti Akhtar Aziz began her career as an economic analyst for the South-East Asia Central Bank Training & Research Center, remaining at that post from 1979 to 1984. She was then appointed Deputy Manager of the Economics Department at Bank Negara Malaysia.

In 2009, Global Finance magazine, named her as one of the world's best central bank chief.^[6] In 2010, she was named "Tokoh Ma'al Hijrah 1432H" at the national-level Ma'al Hijrah celebration.^[7]

On 20 May 2011, Bloomberg columnist William Pesek picked Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz as one of his top four nominees to head the prestigious International Monetary Fund (IMF) after the position became vacant following the resignation of Dominique Strauss-Kahn who was arrested in New York, and is presently facing sexual assault charges.^[8]

Personal life [edit]

Tan Sri Dato' Sri Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz is married to Dato' Dr Tawfiq Ayman and they have two children : Alif & Aziz.

References [edit]