Ex-Haj minister Hajjar nominated to head IDB

Bandar Hajjar. (SPA)

JEDDAH: Former Haj Minister Bandar Hajjar has been nominated by the government to head the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) at a meeting of the board’s governors in Jakarta recently.
IDB President Ahmad bin Mohammad Ali thanked Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman for his support of the bank and wished Hajjar all the best in his new post, a local publication reported on Friday.
Minister of Finance and Governor for Saudi Arabia in IDB Ibrahim Al-Assaf praised Ali for his contribution to the bank over the years. Al-Assaf said that the IDB has become a major player in the international finance arena since it was set up in 1975.
Hajjar has a degree in economics and political science from King Saud University in Riyadh with first degree honors, a master’s degree in economics from Indiana University in the US, and a PhD in economics from Loughborough University in England.
He was undersecretary in the economics department at King Abdulaziz University between 1995 and 1998, deputy president for research in Islamic economics at the same university from 1992 to 1995, and headed the external affairs committee in the Shoura Council.
He was later appointed deputy chairman of the National Human Rights Society between 2004 and 2005, and then as president in 2005. A royal decree was issued in December 2011 to appoint him minister of Haj. He also served a stint as minister of culture and information, the publication reported.