Watson Events

Peter Green Lecture featuring Dr. Ashraf Ghani

Ashraf Ghani, a leading figure in Afghani national affairs, is currently assisting in establishing a plan for Afghan sovereignty by US withdrawal in 2014. Ghani began his career as an academic, conducting research on state-building and social transformation and teaching at Kabul University and Johns Hopkins University. For a decade, he worked at the World Bank, effecting policy in these fields. He was a key figure in rebuilding Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban in 2001. As Special Advisor to the UN, Ghani helped organize the Bonn Agreement that established the post-Taliban government. Joining the Karzai administration as advisor and then Finance Minister, he carried out radical and effective reforms and was instrumental in preparing for the 2004 presidential elections. After 30 months in government, he became Chancellor of Kabul University. Ghani was short-listed in 2006 to become Secretary General of the UN and in 2007 to head the World Bank. He is the author most recently of Fixing Failed States: A Framework for Rebuilding a Fractured World (with Clare Lockhart, 2008) and the Chairman of the Institute of State Effectiveness. In 2009, Ghani was a candidate in the Afghani presidential elections, emphasizing the importance of government transparency and accountability, strong infrastructure and economic investment, and a merit-based political system.