Abdul Hafeez Shaikh

Senator Abdul Hafeez Shaikh عبدالحفیظ شیخ MNA
Hafeez Shaikh (right) meeting with US Deputy Secretary of State Thomas Nides
Minister of Finance
In office 18 March 2010 – 19 February 2013
Prime Minister	Yousaf Raza Gillani Raja Pervaiz Ashraf
Preceded by	Shaukat Tarin
Succeeded by	Saleem Mandviwalla
Minister of Privatization and Investment
In office 2003–2006
Prime Minister	Shaukat Aziz Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain Zafarullah Khan Jamali
Preceded by	Altaf Saleem
Succeeded by	Allam Manou
Personal details
Born	Abdul Hafeez Shaikh Jacobabad, Sindh Province, West-Pakistan
Citizenship	Pakistan
Nationality	Pakistani
Political party	Pakistan Peoples Party
Alma mater	Boston University
Occupation	Economist
Profession	Public servant professor Technocrat
Religion	Islam
Academic field	Political economy

Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh (Urdu: عبدالحفیظ شیخ‎) is a Pakistani political economist of international repute with over 30 years of experience in economic policy-making, management and implementation. He served as the 20th Finance Minister of Pakistan from 2010 to 2013.

Shaikh was educated and earned doctorate from the Boston University in the United States, and has authored many publications including a book on Argentina. He also served as a professor at the Harvard University. Dr. Shaikh associated his services with the World Bank, and served as the director of economics operations of World Bank in Saudi Arabia throughout the 1990s. His other international experience includes assignments in Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Romania, Czech Republic, Iran, Kuwait, Argentina, Bangladesh, Jordan, Qatar, Malta, Botswana, Tanzania, Ghana and Libya.

Dr. Hafeez Shaikh had a highly successful tenure as Minister for Finance, Planning & Development in provisional government of Sindh Province during 2000–2002.

Following that, his three years as the Federal Minister for Privatization & Investment were the most successful in Pakistan's history. 34 transactions worth over US $5 billion were completed in a transparent fashion. Using the slogan of "Privatization for the People", shares in several companies were given to 0.8 million people, creating broad ownership. The period saw foreign direct Investment increase from $1 Billion to $5 Billion. Dr. Shaikh was awarded Pakistan's "Man of the Year" in 2004 by the business community in recognition of his contributions to the country. He left the Government in early 2006.

In 2010, he was appointed as finance adviser of the Government of Pakistan and was later appointed as the chief of the Finance Ministry after securing his mandate from Jacobabad constituency. Since then, he has been directing the economic and financial institutions of the country.