H.E. Nayef Falah Al-Hajraf

H.E. Nayef Falah Al-Hajraf was appointed secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council on February 1, 2020. He previously served as Kuwait’s 19th minister of finance. Al-Hajraf has more than 15 years of experience in public and private sector management, education, and financial consulting. Prior to his appointment, Al-Hajraf served as the country’s chief regulator of marketable securities in his capacity as the chairman of the Board of Commissioners and managing director of the Kuwait Capital Markets Authority from 2014 to 2017. During his tenure, the Capital Markets Authority matured into a world-class regulator and oversaw the privatization and development of Boursa Kuwait Securities Company, the operator of the country’s only stock exchange. Al-Hajraf previously served as Kuwait’s minister of finance for a brief period in 2012 and minister of education and minister of higher education from 2012 to 2014. He was also a member of the First Board of Commissioners of the Capital Markets Authority in 2010 and a member of the Supreme Petroleum Council. He holds a PhD in accounting and finance from the University of Hull, United Kingdom.