Dubai: Mohammad Khalfan Bin Kharbash, former minister of state for financial affairs, died in Dubai on Saturday. He was 60. Funeral prayers will be offered at Al Quoz Mosque on Sunday after which Dr Bin Kharbash will be laid to rest at Al Quoz Cemetery.
Dr Bin Kharbash was born in Dubai in 1956. He graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor’s degree in economics in 1979 and proceeded to pursue postgraduate studies. He earned a Master’s degree in economics, majoring in public finance in 1982 from Boston University.
Dr Bin Kharbash received his PhD in Economics from Exeter University in the United Kingdom in 1991. He was a visiting researcher at Harvard University in 1994.
Dr Bin Kharbash held several government posts in the Ministry of Finance and Industry. He was initially appointed as the director of the Investment Department in 1980. He then rose to become the assistant undersecretary for revenue and budget in 1992 and subsequently to the position of minister of state for finance and industry in 1997.
He then held the position of the minister of state for financial affairs until 2006.
He also chaired the boards of a number of banks. He served as the chairman of Dubai Islamic Bank and Emirates Industrial Bank and vice-chairman of the General Pension and Social Security Authority, besides holding executive positions in Emirates General Petroleum Corporation, Emaar properties Company (PJSC), Tabreed (PJSC) and Real Estate Bank. He was member of the board of directors of the Gulf Investment Corporation (Kuwait) and the Emirates Stocks and Commodities Authority.
Apart from leading the Ministry of Finance and Industry, Dr Bin Kharbash served as chairman and board member on several financial and economic institutions.
In 1997, he held the post of the chairman for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Annual Meetings, which was held in Hong Kong. He was also the chairman of the G11 Financial Committee of the IMF.
Dr Bin Kharbash was alternating governor of the UAE at the IMF, the World Bank, the Arab Fund for Economics and Social Development (Kuwait), the Islamic Development Bank (Saudi Arabia) and the Opec Fund (Austria).
Dr Bin Kharbash served as a member of the advisory board of the Institute for Government Innovation at Harvard University.
