Dr. Mehdi Ali

Current Position:
  • Managing Director, Mehdi Ali Associates, International Advisory and Consultancy: Finance, Economics and Rule of Law, Vienna, Austria,
  • Adjunct Professor, Webster University, Vienna, Austria
Country of Origin: Iraq

Courses taught at Webster

  • Graduate MBA Program: Financial Institutions, Financial Markets and Money
  • Undergraduate Program: International Trade and Fiannce; Money and Banking

Education

  • Ph.D. in Economics, University of Cambridge, England
  • M.Sc. in Statistics, The London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London, England
  • B.Sc. Honor in Economics, College of Economics and Political Science, University of Baghdad, Iraq

Background and Facts

  • Economic training and managerial experience with 32 years of employment with international organizations including:  Senior Economist at the World Bank, Washington DC; Director at the OPEC Fund  for International Development, Vienna,; Director at the United Nations, Vienna; UN Regaional Representative for the Middle East and North Africa, Cairo, Egypt.
  • Successful fund-raising for the World Bank, the OPEC Fund and the United Nations
  • Contacts at the highest political levels in the Middle East including Heads of States and Governments, as well as with Executives in the private sector
  • Advisor to Arab governments on macro-economic and financial planning (e.g.; Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates).
  • Oil Analyst accredited to the Organization of Oil Exporting Countries (OPEC)

Awards and Honors

  • Award from the President of the Republic of Iraq for the top graduate in the College of Economics and Political Science, University of Baghdad, Iraq
  • Recognition for outstanding performance from the Secretary - General of the United Nations, New York, and from the Director-General of the United Nations Office in Vienna.

For INTERNET data, search under “Mehdi Ali UN” or “Mehdi Ali World Bank”.

Selected Publications

  • Current Economic Position and Prospects of Bahrain. The World Bank, December 28, 1973.
  • Oil and Absorptive Capacity in the Economy of Iraq, Producer Country Group. The World Bank, May 1974.
  • The Economy of the United Arab Emirates. The World Bank, July 29, 1974.
  • The Economy of Qatar. The World Bank, August 29, 1974.
  • Current Economic Position and Prospects of the Yemen Arab Republic. The World Bank, January 9, 1976.
  • “The Manpower Dilemma” in the Arab World – Past Experience and Future Outlook”.  Arab Oil Journal, No. 7 April and No. 8 May 1976.
  • “Co-operative Activities of the World Bank with Other Donor Agencies”. Vol.2. Development Center Studies, OECD, Paris, 1978.
  • ArabRepublic of Egypt, Economic Management in a Period of Transition. The Johns Hopkins University Press 1980.
  • Assessment of the Social Dimensions of Structural Adjustment in Sub-Saharan Africa, Republic of Ghana.  The World Bank, August 1, 1989.
  • Social Dimensions of Adjustment Project, Republic of Tanzania.  The World Bank, August 20, 1991.
  • The Financial Challenges facing the Developing Countries in the 1980s. Paper presented at OPEC/UNCTAD Seminar on “Energy and Development.  OPEC, Vienna, July 1980.
  • Financing the Energy Requirements of Developing Countries – The Role of OPEC Aid. OPEC Fund for International Development. Vienna, Pamphlet No. 17, December 1981.
  • The OPEC Fund Experience in Project Financing with Local Counterpart Funds (1976 – 1982). OPEC Fund for International Development. Vienna. Pamphlet No. 23. May 1983.
  • “Agriculture and Energy in the OPEC Fund’s Activities – A Sectoral Perspective”, Chapter 3 in the OPEC Fund for International Development: The Formative years.  Croom Helm Ltd.  Beckenhaus, Kent, UK, June 1983.
  • OPEC in the Changing World Economy. Vienna. OPEC Bulletin, July/August, 1987,
  •  “Oil Prices and Their Impact”. Published by the Diplomatic Academy, Vienna, Favorita Papers 02/2006 under “The Energy Gamble: Securing the Future Mix of Energy”, Diplomatic Academy, Vienna, June 2006.
  • “Rethinking Development”. The Vienna Review, Vol. 4, No. 5, November 2006. Vienna.
  • Opportunities for Private Equity Investment in the Middle East and North Africa Region (MENA), Study prepared for Franklin Templeton Investments, April 2007.