December 7, 2021
HER EXCELLENCY FROYLA TZALAM, Governor-General of Belize, on the advice of the Hon. John Briceno, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Economic Development, and Investment, appointed Mr. Kareem Michael as Governor of the Central Bank of Belize, with effect from 1 December 2021.
Mr. Michael began his work at the Central Bank as Monetary Economist in 2000. He later led the development of and oversaw the Bank’s Statistical Unit and was promoted to Deputy Director of the Research Department in 2008. In 2014, Mr. Michael resigned from the Central Bank to take up the position of Senior Business Analyst at the Belize Electricity Limited. He returned to the Central Bank as Deputy Governor in November 2017, with responsibility for the Financial System Supervision Department, Research Department, and Compliance Unit. Mr. Michael, who has been Acting Governor since 13 August 2021 now assumes the substantive position of Governor.
Mr. Michael brings a wealth of supervisory and regulatory experience to the role. His areas of expertise include Monetary Policy, Exchange Rates and Capital Flows, Economic Indicators and Survey Methods, Financial Programming and Policies, Monetary and Financial Statistics Compilation, Leadership Development, and Project Management. Mr. Michael holds a Master of Public Administration Degree in Economics from the Columbia University in New York City, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Valdosta State University in Georgia, USA, where he was awarded Outstanding Economics Senior of the Year.
The Board of Directors, Management, and Staff of the Central Bank congratulate Mr. Michael and endeavour to continue working with him in furthering the Central Bank’s mission: promoting the stability of the monetary and financial system in a manner that is conducive to economic growth.