Profile of Sidi Ould Tah, new AfDB President
Dr Sidi Ould Tah from Mauritania was elected the new president of the African Development Bank Group at the AfDB’s Annual Meetings held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, on 29 May, 2025.
Elected by the AfDB’s Board of Governors, comprising finance and economy ministers or central bank governors of the Bank Group’s 81 regional and non-regional member countries, the board is the highest decision-making authority for the Bank Group.
The new AfDB president holds a PhD in economics from the University of Nice, Sophia Antipolis, in France, and has advanced degrees from Paris VII-Jussieu and the University of Nouakchott. He has completed executive education at Harvard University, the London Business School, and the Swiss Finance Institute.
Dr Tah is fluent in Arabic, English and French. He has a working proficiency in Portuguese and Spanish.
A former President of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) from 2015 to 2025, Dr Tah served as Mauritania’s Minister of Economy and Finance, where he was National Authorising Officer for the European Development Fund and represented Mauritania on the Boards of Governors of the AfDB, IsDB, World Bank, and over ten other development institutions.
Dr. Tah has also held board roles at leading regional institutions, including Africa Export-Import Bank, Trade and Development Bank, Africa Finance Corporation, and the Central African States Development Bank (BDEAC). A respected voice in global economic forums, he is a frequent invitee to the World Bank Development Committee and other high-level platforms.
The new president will assume office on 1 September 2025 for a five-year term and succeeds outgoing two-term President Dr Akinwumi Adesina.
