A well respected economist and politician, Kemal draws on his many years’ international experience at the World Bank, the United Nations and in Turkish Government and politics to speak on issues connected with globalisation, economics and current affairs.
In the course of his 22-year career at the World Bank, Kemal worked on Middle East and North African affairs followed by responsibility for Poverty Reduction and Economic Management. He managed work on the transition of post-Communist Eastern Europe and the reconstruction of Bosnia after the Yugoslavian war.
He served as Minister of Economic Affairs and the Treasury of Turkey, where he was responsible for launching Turkey’s successful recovery from a devastating financial crisis. From the end of 2002 to the summer of 2005, Kemal was a member of the Turkish Parliament representing his native city of Istanbul. During that period he was one of the two Turkish representatives to the Convention of the Future of Europe. After headship of the United Nations Development Programme between 2005-2009, Kemal is now Director of the Global Economy and Development Program at think tank, the Brookings Institution in Washington DC. He has published many articles in academic journals and current affairs publications and has co-authored and edited several books.
