Transformer of Georgia, Ex-Finance Minister to deliver MILODA lecture

Thursday, 15 August 2013 00:21 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Former Finance Minister of Georgia, economist Dimitri Gvindadze is in Sri Lanka to deliver a lecture at the MILODA Academy of Financial Studies organised Eminent Speaker Series tomorrow. He will speak on ‘Defining attributes for a successful global economic positioning – Lessons for Sri Lanka’ at 4 p.m. on 16 August 2013 at the Times Building, Bristol Street, Colombo 1. He is the second eminent speaker to deliver a lecture at MILODA. The first was Kishore Mahbubami, Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public

Policy of the National University of Singapore in May. Gvindadze is a Georgian economist and politician who was the country’s Minister of Finance from June 2011 to 13 August 2012 and is known as the force behind the transformation of the Georgian economy. Born in Tbilisi, Georgia, Gvindaze graduated from Tbilisi Technical University with a degree with honours in civil engineering in 1995. In 1998, he graduated in international policy studies at the Paris Diplomatic Academy, in 2001 he graduated from The Hague Institute of Social Sciences, specialising in ‘International Relations and Development’ and from the IMF Institute Washington. He also holds a Masters degree in public administration and international economic development from the John F. Kennedy School of Government , Harvard University (2003–2005). From 1994 to 2003, Gvindadze served on various positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia. In July 2005, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Finance. He was in charge of foreign debt, cooperation with the international financial institutions and bilateral donors. As acknowledged by the Prime Minister of Georgia Nika Gilauri when nominating him to the post of Minister of Finance, Gvindadze’s efforts while serving as the Deputy Minister of Finance made it possible for Georgia to issue US$ 500 million euro-bonds in 2011. Gvindadze was then appointed Minister of Finance in June 2011 and among landmark achievements during his tenure was Georgia reaching the world ninth ranking on the Ease of Doing Business Index as assessed by the World Bank. He also served as a Governor for Georgia at the Asian Development Bank, as a Director of Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, as a Governor at The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and a Member of Administrative Council at Council of Europe Development Bank. He presently serves as the Global Head of Research at Liberty Securities, Research Division, Georgia.