About the Speaker:

Ali Taiebnia, Senior Advisor to Iran President Hassan Rouhani, will be visiting Singapore under the Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellowship (LKYEF) from 28 January to 4 February 2018.  Dr Taiebnia will be the first Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellow from Iran.  A reform-minded economist, Dr Taiebnia recently served as Iran’s Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance from 2013 to 2017, as part of President Dr Hassan Rouhani’s first-term cabinet.  Prior to his Ministerial appointment, Dr Taiebnia had held various economic and finance-related portfolios at various Iranian state institutions.  While Dr Taiebnia has returned to the academia as an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Tehran, he continues to play an advisory role to the Iranian government as Senior Advisor to the President.  In his academic career, Dr Taiebnia has published numerous research articles and books related to the Iranian economy.  Born in Isfahan, Iran, Dr Taiebnia has a PhD, Master’s Degree, and Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Tehran.  Dr Taiebnia had spent one year at the London School of Economics during his PhD programme.