Safaa El Tayeb El-Kogali

Safaa El Tayeb El-Kogali has been the World Bank’s division director for the Gulf Cooperation Council countries since July 1, 2023. El-Kogali, a Sudanese national, is a leading international development expert with more than 27 years of development experience in strategic leadership, government policy, program management, and research. El-Kogali joined the World Bank in March 2000 as a young professional in the East Asia and Pacific Region. She has since held various positions across regions at the World Bank, including senior economist in the Middle East and North Africa, human development sector leader in Latin America and the Caribbean, and practice manager for education in the Middle East and North Africa and in eastern and southern Africa. She led policy dialogue and programs with governments in over 30 countries and published numerous studies and reports spanning a range of development topics. El-Kogali has a Master of Philosophy with distinction in development studies from the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex and a Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of Pennsylvania.