In Memoriam: Dr. Samir Radwan (1942–2026)

The Economic Research Forum mourns with great sadness the passing of Dr. Samir Radwan, distinguished Egyptian economist, former Managing Director of ERF and former Minister of Finance of Egypt, who passed away on 18 August 2026 at the age of 84.

Dr. Radwan was an important part of ERF’s history and of the wider community of economists and policy thinkers that the Forum has sought to bring together across the region. He served as Managing Director of ERF from October 2003 to December 2006, helping lead the institution during an important period in its development and strengthening its role as a regional platform connecting rigorous economic research with the policy challenges facing the Middle East and North Africa.

His association with ERF reflected the wider orientation of a remarkable professional career. An economist deeply concerned with employment, development, poverty and human development, Dr. Radwan devoted much of his professional life to understanding how economic policy could improve people’s opportunities and living standards. Before joining ERF, he spent many years with the International Labour Organization, culminating in his service as Adviser to the Director-General on Development Policies and Counselor on Arab Countries. His expertise in employment and development made him one of the region’s widely recognised voices on these issues.

Dr. Radwan was educated at Cairo University and the University of London, receiving his B.Sc. in Economics from Cairo University in 1963, his master’s degree in 1967 and his Ph.D. in Economics from the School of Oriental and African Studies in 1973. Over the decades that followed, he combined research and scholarship with international development work, policy advice, public service and engagement with successive generations of economists and policymakers.

In 2011, at an exceptionally difficult moment in Egypt’s history, he was called upon to serve as Minister of Finance, bringing to public office the experience of a career devoted to development and economic policy. Even after leaving government, he remained an active and thoughtful participant in economic debate, continuing to speak about the need to connect economic reform with employment, social protection, productive investment and improvements in people’s lives. His public engagement continued until very recently.

For ERF, however, Dr. Radwan was more than the distinguished positions he held. He belonged to a generation of economists who helped establish a tradition of serious, independent and policy-relevant economic inquiry in the region. His career embodied many of the values at the heart of ERF’s mission: intellectual rigour, engagement with real policy problems, a regional perspective, and a conviction that economic analysis ultimately matters because of its consequences for people.

His passing is a loss to ERF, to the economics profession in Egypt and the region, and to the many colleagues, researchers and policymakers who benefited from his work over more than five decades.

The management, staff and wider network of the Economic Research Forum extend their deepest condolences to Dr. Radwan’s family, colleagues, students and friends. We honour his service to ERF and his enduring contribution to economic thought and public policy in the region.

May he rest in peace.