Zeti Akhtar Aziz

Tan Sri Dato' Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz is the 7th and current governor of Bank Negara Malaysia, Malaysia's central bank. She has been governor since May 2000, and was the first woman in the position. She is seen as one of the most powerful woman in Malaysia.fact|date=August 2008

Early Life

Zeti Akhtar Aziz was born in Johor Bahru, Johor, to father Ungku Aziz and a Malay mother. She received early education at Assunta High School, Petaling Jaya in 1958. In 1970, she received a Bachelor's degree in Economics from University Malaya. She subsequently continued her studies at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, receiving a PhD in monetary and international economics. As part of her PhD dissertation she carried out pioneering work on capital flows and its implications for monetary policy.

Career

Zeti Akhtar Aziz began her career as an economic analyst for the South-East Asia Central Bank Training & Research Center, remaining at that post from 1979 to 1984. She was then appointed Deputy Manager of the Economics Department at Bank Negara Malaysia.

She joined the Economics Department in Bank Negara Malaysia in 1985 and was appointed Secretary to the Board of Directors of the bank in 1987. In 1989, she was posted to the Bank Negara Malaysia London Representative Office as the Chief Representative. Upon returning to the Head Office in 1994, Dr. Zeti was appointed the Bank's Chief Economist and the Head of its Economics Department. In 1995, she was appointed Assistant Governor, responsible for economics, reserve management, foreign and money market operations and exchange control.

Additionally, she was Managing Director of Danaharta Nasional Bhd from 1998 to 2000, and was on the board of directors of Khazanah Nasional Bhd from 2004 to 2008.

Personal Life

Zeti Akhtar Aziz is married to Dr Taufik Ayman and has two children.