Katharina Hansen appointed as the first female head of the European Bank in Iraq.
Katharina Hansen appointed as the first female head of the European Bank in Iraq.
9-16-2025
Information/Translation..
A report published on the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s website revealed, on Tuesday, the appointment of Katarina Bjorlin Hansen as the European Bank’s first female head in Iraq.
The report, translated by Al-Maalomah Agency, stated that “Bjorlin Hansen will be responsible for the bank’s investments and operations in Iraq, and will report to Gretchen Perry, the bank’s director for the Eastern Mediterranean region.”
It added that “this step follows the approval by the Board of Governors – at the EBRD’s 2023 Annual Meeting in Samarkand – of amendments to the bank’s Articles of Agreement, enabling the bank to operate in sub-Saharan Africa and Iraq.”
The report explained that “the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development promotes private sector development. Ansen, a Swedish national, joined the bank in 2006 and was responsible for the municipal infrastructure sector in Central Asia and the Caucasus until 2016. She was then appointed Vice President of the bank in Egypt. In 2019, she became the EBRD’s Regional Director for the Caucasus. Since 2023, she has been Head of the EBRD in Moldova.”
The report indicated that “the EBRD works to promote private sector development in 42 emerging economies, helping them transition towards a greener, more inclusive, and more digital future. The bank has invested more than €215 billion since its inception in 1991, with 79 percent of this amount directed to the private sector.”
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