| Seyed Mohammad Hossein Adeli | |
|---|---|
| Governor of Central Bank of Iran | |
| In office 1989–1994 |
|
| Preceded by | Majid Ghasemi |
| Succeeded by | Mohsen Nourbakhsh |
| Ambassador of Iran to the United Kingdom | |
| In office 2004–2005 |
|
| President | Mohammad Khatami |
| Preceded by | Morteza Sarmadi |
| Succeeded by | Rasoul Movahedian |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 16, 1953 Ahvaz , Iran |
| Alma mater | University of Tehran Jamia Millia Islamia California Coast University |
| Religion | Twelver Shi'a Islam |
Seyed Mohammad Hossein Adeli (Persian : سید محمد حسین عادلی) born in 1953 in Ahvaz (Persian: اهواز ) is an Iranian politician, diplomat, economist and academic. He is the Chairman and CEO of Ravand Institute as well as the Chairman of Amin Investment Bank.
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Hossein Adeli is one the few Iranian politicians to have a truly international background, having studied at University of Tehran, University of New York, The New School in New York, and also studying in New Delhi, before earning his double Ph.D in Economics and Business Administration from the University of California. He is married to Khadijeh Aryan, a Senior Lecturer in Allameh Tabatabaii University teaching psychology. They have a daughter and two sons.
Adeli was educated in Dar ul-Funun (Persian: دار الفنون ) in Tehran. Beginning his career teaching at various universities in Tehran, at age of 27 he became the Director General of the Economic Affairs Department in Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Five years later, he became special advisor to the Foreign Ministry. In the following year, he acted as advisor to the Minister of Petroleum. Adeli went on to represent Iran at various OPEC meetings. Adeli is one of the only dignitaries of the Islamic Republic to have actively participated to the World Economic Forum activities.
Adeli’s diplomatic career began with his appointment as Iran’s Ambassador to Japan between 1986 and 1989, during which he played a key role in revitalising Iranian and Japanese business/political relations. Soon thereafter, at the age of 36 he was appointed Governor of Central Bank of Iran.[1] Adeli is credited a pioneer of the economic reform package during the critical years of reconstruction following the Iraq-Iran War.[2][3] Through a series of macroeconomic adjustments, Adeli delivered strong and sustained results by dramatically improving the foreign exchange and monetary policy.
Adeli’s diplomatic career progressed through his appointment as Iranian Ambassador to Canada in 1995. At the end of his term in 1999, Adeli was nominated as Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Affairs and the Chairman of the Coordinating Council for Foreign Economic Relations until 2004. During these years, Adeli initiated two special committees for Reconstruction of Afghanistan and Reconstruction of Iraq through a series of multilateral arrangements, and filled the role of Secretary General for both Committees.
As his last official post, he served as Ambassador Extraordinary Plenipotentiary of Iran to the United Kingdom. At his time, he along with John Curtis and several others lobbied with Iranian Government to borrow 80 items for a new exhibition named “The Forgotten Empire”.
Adeli has also been active in regional and international groups and organisations, including the D-8, the G15, the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation and the European Union. He has received many awards including a distinction by the Economic Cooperation Organisation Secretary General for "Special Recognition and Appreciation" for his contribution and proposition of the name ECO. He also won the Crans-Montana Development and Peace Award in 2002 in Geneva.
Adeli has also received special recognition for various activities including: spearheading monetary reforms as Central Bank Governor; innovation of a new Islamic banking financial instrument called “Participation Paper”, now widely used in Iran and other Islamic countries under the name of Sukuk; initiating the law for Official Development Assistance of Iran which aims to contribute to the development of least developing countries; initiating Economic Diplomacy for the first time in Iran; initiating Economic partnership with Africa through Iran–Africa economic summit; being head of Coordination for assistance to Iraqi reconstruction, and Coordination for assisting Afghanistan reconstruction through international organization. He has been a frequent guest speaker at many prestigious international conferences, including OPEC, South-South Cooperation, United Nations, World Economic Forum, Islamic Banking and Finance, World Bank, International Trade Centre and International Monetary Fund as well as major investment banks such as Goldman Sachs.
After leaving the government, Adeli founded the Ravand Institute for Economic and International Studies,[4] Iran’s first private,[5] non-governmental, non-partisan research centre. He is the Founder and currently Chairman and CEO of Ravand Institute.
Throughout his career, he established a strong network of academic, corporate and diplomatic contacts. These connections and associations have provided Ravand Institute with access to global leaders, policy-makers, corporate executives, NGOs, businesspeople, academics and the media. Committed to the promotion of understanding and partnership, Ravand Institute organises international conferences and seminars, where such bodies and organisations can contribute to regional and global debates. However, Ravand’s think tank is also a ‘do-tank’ in its capacity to conduct research on salient policy issues; to provide strategic advice at the governmental level; to consult with corporate entities in the fields of energy, finance and industry; and to design customised instructional workshops in a broad range of disciplines.