Ahsan H Mansur, renowned economist and the executive director of Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh, is set to be appointed as the next governor of Bangladesh Bank, according to finance ministry sources.
Speaking to The Business Post in the afternoon, Ahsan, 72, said he has received a phone call from finance adviser Salehuddin Ahmed in this regard, but he is yet to receive the appointment letter.
The final decision was set to come from a meeting of the Advisory Council of the incumbent interim government scheduled on Tuesday evening. But the decision did not come until the filing of this report at 9:10pm.
Ahsan earlier held various important positions at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He is well known as an analyst of the country's financial sector.
The interim government decided to appoint a new head of the central bank after governor Abdur Rouf Talukder resigned on August 9 in the wake of the fall of Awami League regime following a mass uprising led by students on August 5.
Meanwhile, the interim government at the Advisory Council meeting removed the age bar of maximum 67 years for the position of Bangladesh Bank governor.
The proposal to amend the Bangladesh bank order and remove this age bar was placed at the meeting, a high level source at the Financial Institutions Division (FID), on condition of anonymity, had confirmed The Business Post earlier in the day.
Senior officials involved with the matter pointed out that many countries in the world, including India and Sri Lanka, have no age limit for the post of central bank governors.
After approval of the advisory council, the FID will issue a presidential ordinance following approval of the president. The division will then issue an order for appointing a new Bangladesh Bank governor.
