Appointment of ordinary member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences

The Holy Father has appointed the distinguished Dr. Vera Songwe, co-chair of the Independent High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance, as ordinary member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.

Curriculum vitae

Dr. Songwe was born in Nairobi, Kenya, on 31 August 1968, and is a citizen of Cameroon. She holds a degree in economics and political sciences from the University of Michigan, United States of America, and a doctorate in mathematical economics from the Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium. From 1998 to 2015 she worked for the World Bank, holding various roles including that of National Director for Senegal, Cabo Verde, Gambia, Guinea Bissau and Mauritania, and from 2015 to 2017 she served as Director for West and Central Africa of the International Finance Corporation. Subsequently, from 2017 to 2022, she held the office of Undersecretary General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa of the United Nations. Founder and president of the Liquidity and Sustainability Facility, she is currently also a non-resident senior fellow at the Africa Growth Initiative of the Brookings Institution in Washington, United States of America.