Ali A. Allawi

former minister, defense and finance, Iraq

Ali A. Allawi is the former Minister of Finance, Defense, and Trade of Iraq. Currently, he is a senior visiting fellow at Princeton University. Born in Baghdad in 1947, Allawi graduated from MIT in 1968 with a BSc in Civil Engineering. He went on to do postgraduate studies in regional planning at the London School of Economics, and then obtained an MBA from Harvard University. Allawi was active in the opposition to the Baathist regime from 1968 onwards. He spent a number of years in finance in various positions outside Iraq, including a position at the World Bank. In 1978, he co-founded Arab International Finance, a merchant bank based in London, and in 1992, he founded Fisa Group, which manages two hedge funds. From 1999-2002, he was a Senior Associate Member at St. Anthony's College, Oxford University.