Riad Salameh
Governor of Banque du Liban
Riad Salameh graduated with a degree in Economics from the American University of Beirut. He has been the Governor of Banque du Liban (BDL) for 22 years. He was appointed in1993 and then reappointed for three consecutive terms in 1999, 2005, and 2011. In this capacity, he chairs the BDL Central Council, the Higher Banking Commission, the AML/CFT Special Investigation Commission, the Open Market and Investment Committees, and the Capital Markets Authority. Moreover, he is a member of the Board of Governors at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF). Prior to becoming Governor, he had an extensive career in Merrill Lynch Beirut and then in Paris, where he was the VP and Financial Advisor at Merrill Lynch.
It is with Governor Salameh’s leadership and his belief that the knowledge economy should become one of the pillars of Lebanon’s economy, along with his confidence in Lebanon’s human talent, that BDL issued BDL Circular 331 to encourage Lebanese banks to invest in this sector.
As governor of Banque du Liban, Governor Salameh has maintained economic stability despite all the political and military turmoil Lebanon has faced since 1993, as well as numerous global economic crises. His achievements have been recognized locally and globally. He has received numerous awards and accolades throughout the years including Central Banker of the Year 2009 by The Banker Magazine, the 2006 Euromoney Award as the best Central Bank Governor in the World, the 2005 Euromoney Award for Emerging Markets as the Best Central Bank Governor in the Middle East, and several more Euromoney Awards.
To read Governor Riad Salameh’s opening speech at BDL Accelerate 2014 click here and/or watch the opening ceremony:
