Minouche Shafik
Minouche Shafik | |
|---|---|
| Born | Nemat Talaat Shafik August 13, 1962 Alexandria, Egypt |
| Other names | Baroness Shafik |
| Occupation(s) | Economist, academic administrator, scholar |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Known for | President of London School of Economics (2017–2023), President of Columbia University (2023–2024), Deputy Governor of the Bank of England (2014–2017) |
| Notable work | Prospects for the Middle East and North African Economies: from Boom to Bust and Back? (1998), What We Owe Each Other: A New Social Contract for a Better Society (2021) |
Nemat Talaat Shafik, Baroness Shafik (born 13 August 1962), widely recognized as Minouche Shafik, is an economist and scholar with dual British-American nationality. She held the position of president and vice chancellor at the London School of Economics between 2017 and 2023, before becoming the 20th president of Columbia University from July 2023 until August 2024.
Between 2014 and 2017, Shafik was appointed as a Deputy Governor of the Bank of England. Prior to this, she served as the permanent secretary for the UK's Department for International Development from 2008 to 2011. Her career also includes senior leadership roles at the World Bank and a tenure as deputy managing director at the International Monetary Fund. Since 2020, she has been a life peer and member of the House of Lords.
Shafik's presidency at Columbia University was marked by considerable difficulties amid the 2024 Columbia University protests, including congressional inquiries into allegations of antisemitism on campus. Facing mounting pressure from protests, institutional investigations, faculty members, and legislators, she stepped down on 14 August 2024. In January 2025, she was named chair of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Early life and education
Born in Alexandria, Egypt, Shafik grew up in a Muslim family where both parents were educators. Her father was a scientist and a prosperous landowner. She attended Schutz American School during her early years. At age four, following the nationalization of her father's assets by the Egyptian government, her family moved first to Savannah, Georgia, then relocated to Miami and later to Raleigh, North Carolina.
Shafik spent one year studying at the American University in Cairo before obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree with summa cum laude honors and election to Phi Beta Kappa in economics and politics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1983. She earned a Master of Science in economics from the London School of Economics in 1986 and completed her Doctorate of Philosophy in economics at the University of Oxford in 1989.
Economic career
Following her doctorate, Shafik joined the World Bank, initially contributing to research focused on global economic modeling and environmental challenges. She later concentrated on macroeconomic issues related to Europe and the Middle East, publishing work on topics such as the region's economic prospects, peace economics, labor markets, regional integration, and gender dynamics. At age 36, she became the youngest Vice President in the World Bank’s history.
Her academic appointments included serving as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University from 1989 to 1994 and as a visiting associate professor at the Wharton Business School in 1996.
Shafik was seconded to the British Government’s Department for International Development (DFID) where she acted as Director General for Country Programmes. In this role, she managed overseas offices and funding operations across Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. In 2008, she was appointed DFID’s Permanent Secretary, overseeing bilateral aid initiatives spanning over 100 countries alongside multilateral policy coordination with entities such as the United Nations, European Union, and international financial bodies. She led a workforce of 2,400 employees managing a budget of £38 billion (approximately US$60 billion) for the period between 2011 and 2014.
From April 2011 through March 2014, Shafik served as Deputy Managing Director at the IMF, where she supervised IMF activities across Europe and the Middle East. Her responsibilities included managing an administrative budget of $1 billion, overseeing human resources for around 3,000 staff members, and directing training programs alongside technical support for policymakers worldwide.
Subsequently, she joined the Bank of England as its inaugural Deputy Governor for Markets and Banking. In this capacity, she was responsible for overseeing the Bank’s £500 billion balance sheet. Additionally, she participated on several key committees: the Monetary Policy Committee, Financial Policy Committee, and Prudential Regulatory Authority Board. Shafik also led the Bank’s Fair and Effective Markets review aimed at addressing misconduct within financial markets.
London School of Economics
On 12 September 2016, Shafik was named Director of the London School of Economics, taking over from sociologist Craig Calhoun. She officially began her leadership on 1 September 2017.
Columbia University
Columbia University's board of trustees appointed Shafik as president on 18 January 2023, marking her as the institution's first female leader. Her presidency commenced on 1 July 2023, with the formal inauguration occurring on 4 October 2023.
In response to the intensification of the Gaza conflict in October 2023 and an incident involving an Israeli student, Shafik emphasized that any unlawful speech or breaches of university regulations would not be tolerated. However, several U.S. legislators, including Representatives Ritchie Torres and Kathy Manning, criticized her reaction as inadequate in safeguarding Jewish students from antisemitism on campus. Faculty members and graduate workers also voiced concerns after pro-Palestinian organizations such as Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) were suspended due to repeated policy violations.
In November 2023, Shafik declined to appear at the 2023 United States Congress hearing on antisemitism, citing scheduling conflicts. She later testified before the United States House Committee on Education and the Workforce on 17 April 2024 alongside Columbia trustees David Greenwald and Claire Shipman. Her preparation involved collaboration with former presidential advisors, consultants, legal experts, political figures, and specialists in antisemitism.
Pro-Palestinian protests and controversy
After pro-Palestinian demonstrations and a campus occupation began on 17 April 2024, Columbia President Minouche Shafik requested NYPD assistance to disperse the encampment near the university, resulting in over 100 student arrests on 22 April. Subsequently, the university transitioned to a hybrid learning model. Some protests featured pro-Hamas antisemitic rhetoric directed at Jewish students.
While testifying before Congress, Shafik coordinated her response through Covington & Burling’s Washington, D.C. office. Her decision to permit arrests faced backlash from groups including the American Association of University Professors, PEN America, Union Theological Seminary President Serene Jones, and the Columbia College Student Council. Hundreds of faculty members organized a walkout and signed an open letter denouncing her management of the unrest.
Significant donors such as alumnus Robert Kraft and billionaire Len Blavatnik suspended their contributions, citing dissatisfaction with the university’s handling of antisemitism on campus. Republican leaders like House Speaker Mike Johnson demanded Shafik’s resignation, accusing her of failing to protect Jewish students. Both Democratic and Republican officials—including Senators John Fetterman and Tim Scott as well as Representative Jim Banks—also called for her departure. Columbia’s university senate drafted a censure resolution accusing Shafik of infringing upon academic freedom and student rights but later postponed the vote in favor of further inquiry.
On 29 April, Shafik announced that negotiations with protesters had reached an impasse and reaffirmed that the university would not divest from Israel. She again sought NYPD intervention on 30 April, which led to an additional 108 arrests and an extended police presence through mid-May. The institution canceled its planned commencement ceremony for 15 May, opting instead to award degrees electronically.
The Faculty of Arts and Sciences initiated a no-confidence vote against Shafik on 10 May due to her decisions involving student arrests, campus lockdowns with police involvement, and investigations into faculty statements about Israel—actions perceived as violations of academic freedom. The motion passed on 16 May with support from 65% of 709 participating professors.
Facing sustained pressure, Shafik resigned on 14 August 2024. She later accepted a position with the UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs to lead a review of British international development policy.
Academic Contributions
Shafik is the author of Prospects for the Middle East and North African Economies: from Boom to Bust and Back? (1998) and What We Owe Each Other: A New Social Contract for a Better Society (2021). She also served as editor for the volume Economic Challenges Facing Middle Eastern and North African Countries (1998).
Her scholarly articles have been published in esteemed journals such as Oxford Economic Papers, The Middle East Journal, Journal of African Finance and Economic Development, World Development, and the Journal of Development Economics.
Additional Engagements
Shafik has led several international advisory panels, including the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor, the Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme, the Global Water and Sanitation Program, Cities Alliance, InfoDev, the Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility, and the Global Corporate Governance Forum. Her board memberships have included the Middle East Advisory Group to the International Monetary Fund and the Economic Research Forum for the Arab World, Iran, and Turkey. Furthermore, she actively mentors through the Minority Ethnic Talent Association, aiding underrepresented individuals in advancing their leadership roles within civil service.
Presently, Shafik holds trustee positions at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the Task Force on Fiscal Policy for Health, the New Economy Forum, and the Per Jacobsson Foundation. In 2021, she became a member of the Pandemic Preparedness Partnership, providing counsel to the G7 presidency under UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
In January 2022, Shafik was named a trustee of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
In a 2023 publication by the IMF promoting her book What We Owe Each Other: A New Social Contract, she voiced concerns regarding 'cancel culture' on university campuses, underscoring that higher education institutions should encourage intellectual debate and facilitate difficult discussions to cultivate consensus.
In January 2025, Shafik was appointed as chair of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Honors and Distinctions
In recognition of her achievements, Shafik was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) during the 2015 Queen's Birthday Honours. She earned the "GG2 Woman of the Year" accolade in 2009 and was ranked among Forbes' 100 most powerful women in 2015. The 100 Women in Finance European Industry Leaders Award was bestowed upon her in 2019.
During the 2020 Political Honours, she was ennobled as Baroness Shafik of Camden and Alexandria and joined the House of Lords as a crossbench member in October 2020. She delivered her maiden speech in January 2021 and subsequently took a leave of absence from July 2023 until February 2025.
Shafik was elected an honorary fellow of the British Academy in 2021 and received an honorary doctorate from Utrecht University. Other honorary degrees include a Doctor of Law from University of Warwick (2012), a DLitt from University of Glasgow (2017), a Doctor of Humane Letters from American University of Beirut (2018), a Doctor of Science from University of Reading (2019), and a Doctor of Laws from Columbia University (2023).
Personal life
In 1990, Shafik wed economist Mohamed El-Erian during their tenures at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, respectively. She later married scientist Raffael Jovine in 2002, with whom she has twin children as well as three stepchildren.
She possesses both American and British citizenship and is proficient in English, Arabic, and French.