Tuesday 31 January 2017 marked the last day in ESCWA for Deputy Executive Secretary for Programme Abdallah Al Dardari around whom ESCWA staff members gathered for farewell moments before joining the World Bank as Senior Advisor for Reconstruction and Rehabilitation in the Middle East and North Africa.
 
Al Dardari had joined ESCWA in 2011 as Senior Economist and Director of the Economic Development and Integration Division (EDID), prior to his appointment in 2013 as Deputy Executive Secretary.

During his tenure, focus was placed on research on a post Neo-liberal economic paradigm in the Arab region and the Sustainable Development Agenda. He also led work on the National Agenda for the Future of Syria (NAFS), and on deepening regional economic integration.

Before joining ESCWA, Al Dardari was Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs from 2005 to 2011, Minister of Planning, and Chairperson of the State Planning Commission from 2003 to 2005. He also served as Assistant Resident Representative in the Syria office of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) between 2001 and 2003.

Al Dardari, who began his career as a journalist at the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat,  has over ten years of experience as lecturer on the subjects of economics and international relations at various international institutions.

Al Dardari, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Richmond – American International University of London (1985), a Master of Arts degree in International Economic Relations from the University of Southern California (1988). He undertook postgraduate studies towards a Master of Philosophy in International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science between 1988 and 1990. He also holds an honorary doctorate from Yalova University in Istanbul.