News & Visuals

Zeinab Bashir El Bakri, New Member of the Inspection Panel

Washington D.C., August 7, 2012 - The Inspection Panel is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Zeinab Bashir El Bakri as a new Member of the Inspection Panel. On September 1, 2012, Ms. El Bakri will replace Mr. Roberto Lenton, whose five-year term will expire on August 31, 2012. Ms. El Bakri was selected to this position through an international competitive recruitment process.

Ms. El Bakri, a national of Sudan, brings to the Panel more than 20 years of development experience. She built a distinguished and broad career at the African Development Bank (AfDB), where her last position was Vice President Operations from 2006-2009. In addition, between 1991 and 2005, she served in a number of positions at AfDB spanning multiple regions of Africa; focusing on portfolios including social development, gender, agriculture and agro-industry, climate change and governance; and gained expertise in both policy development and operations. After leaving AfDB, she was appointed Director of the Delivery Unit for the Office of His Highness the Prime Minister of Kuwait, responsible for ensuring delivery of reform initiatives.

Ms. El Bakri’s time at the African Development Bank was preceded by an academic career at the University of Khartoum, where she was Senior Lecturer in Anthropology and Sociology and also managed the Women and Development Programme of the Development Studies and Research Center. Her early career included a number of consultancies within the UN System, philanthropy and international NGOs.

Throughout her career, Ms. El Bakri has worked on evaluation issues based on meticulous attention to facts. Her work at AfDB included service on the Board Committee on Development Effectiveness and responsibility for Management responses to Independent Evaluations within her sectors. She was also responsible for establishing AfDB’s Governance, Economic and Financial Reforms Department. She has recently served as a member of the High Level Panel convened to review the fiduciary and other controls for the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Malaria and TB. Earlier this year, she was appointed to the High Level Panel convened by the UN Economic Commission for Africa chaired by Thabo Mbeki. She earned a Ph.D. in Sociology & Anthropology from Hull University and received her M.A. and B.A. in Sociology from the American University in Cairo.

About the Panel: The Inspection Panel consists of three members who are appointed by the Board for nonrenewable periods of five years. As provided for in the Resolution that established the Panel, members are selected on the basis of their ability to deal thoroughly and fairly with the Requests brought to them, their integrity, their independence from Bank Management, and their exposure to developmental issues and to living conditions in developing countries. The Panel is functionally independent of Bank Management, and reports solely to the Board. In addition, Panel members are prohibited from ever working for the Bank after their term ends.