Forbes magazine has selected British national Nemat Shafiq, the deputy governor of the Bank of England, as the 66th most powerful woman on its list for 2015, published on Wednesday.
Shafiq, who is of Egyptian decent and is nicknamed Minouche, took charge of her current position at the Bank of England in August 2014. The bank is the second oldest central bank in the world and Shafiq is the second woman to hold the deputy governor's position at the institution, according to Forbes.
The 52-year old woman was born in Alexandria, Egypt. She traveled to the United States for her undergraduate studies, later earning a master's and doctorate in economics from the London School of Economics and Oxford University, respectively.
At the age of 36, she became the World Bank's youngest ever vice-president. Between 2011 and 2014, she was the deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund, where she was in charge of the IMF’s work in Europe and the Middle East.
According to the British Independent, IMF’s managing director Christine Lagarde described Shafiq as “candid, loyal and a superb leader.”
The Forbes list was topped by Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, followed by US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
