Mauritania’s former finance minister, Sidi Ould Tah, has been elected as the new president of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB).
The announcement was made by Kaba Niale, Ivory Coast’s planning minister and chair of the AfDB board.
Tah’s election occurred during the bank group’s annual meetings held in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
The AfDB’s board of governors, composed of finance ministers and central bank chiefs, made the decision.
Tah previously served as Mauritania’s finance minister and held senior positions in multilateral institutions.
Since 2015, he has led the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) as president.
Sidi Ould Tah will officially take office on September 1.
He will succeed the current president, Akinwumi Adesina, at the end of his second five-year term.
The African Development Bank Group was founded in 1964.
Its mission is to drive sustainable growth and reduce poverty throughout the African continent.
The AfDB’s shareholders include 54 African and 27 non-African countries.