Tarek Amer, the new governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), is the 13th governor to hold the responsibility of managing Egypt’s monetary policy since CBE was established in 1961.
The first governor was Abdel Hakim El-Refaie in 1961. He held the position until March 25, 1964. Tarek Amer will take office as the new governor on November 27, 2015 and until November 26, 2019.
The Central Bank law No. 88 for 2003 provides in article 10 that the governor is appointed by a presidential decree on the nomination of the Prime Minister for a period of 4 years, subject to renewal.
The Governor of CBE is treated as a minister, in terms of pension, while his resignation must be accepted by the president. CBE’s nine members in its Board of Directors, as well the governor, has tenure of four years, subjected to renewal.
CBE was established on a presidential decree in 1961 as an independent entity which represents the official bank of the Egyptian government.
It is an autonomous regulatory body, assuming the authorities and powers vested therein by Law No. 88 for 2003 and the Presidential Decree No. 65 for 2004.
CBE’s responsibilities include; realising price stability and ensuring the soundness of the banking system; formulating and implementing the monetary, credit, and banking policies; issuing banknotes and determining their denominations and specifications; supervising the banking sector; managing the foreign currency international reserves of the country; regulating the functioning of the foreign exchange market; supervising the national payments’ system; and recording and following up on Egypt’s external public and private debt.
Hisham Ramez took position in 3 February 2013, until the end of his mandate in 26 November, 2015.
