The Central Bank of Somalia (CBS) has confirmed the reappointment of Governor Abdirahman Mohammed Abdullahi for a second four-year term, putting to rest concerns among international financial organizations that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud might replace him with an inexperienced appointee. Abdullahi, a finance and banking veteran, has been instrumental in implementing critical economic reforms since his initial appointment in July 2019.
Abdullahi, who began his career with the Somali government in 1986, is credited with aiding the nation’s financial reforms. As the Prime Minister’s senior economic policy adviser, he was pivotal in this ongoing shift.
The CBS Governor, a dual Somali-Norwegian national, holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the Norwegian University of Technology and Science and a Masters in Finance and International Banking from John Moores University in Liverpool. Abdullahi’s impressive resume includes a diverse career in both public and private sectors in Norway, the United Kingdom, and Yemen.
Somalia has seen significant financial developments under Abdullahi’s watch, including launching the Somali National Quick Response (QR) Code Standard to modernize the nation’s payment systems. CBS also returned to the Global Payments Week after a 32-year hiatus and enforced the use of International Bank Account Numbers (IBAN) by commercial lenders.
Abdullahi’s return to the helm also reaffirms CBS’s commitment to introducing a new currency to combat rampant counterfeiting, a key initiative since Somalia has yet to print new banknotes since the government collapsed in 1991.
