Former Treasury Principal Secretary Kamau Thugge has officially taken over as the tenth Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya.
He succeeds Dr Patrick Njoroge whose second four-year term ended in June.
“The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) welcomes Dr. Kamau Thugge E.B.S., M.B.S., C.B.S., as its tenth Governor. This follows his appointment by His Excellency President William Samoei Ruto, PhD., C.G.H. Dr. Thugge has taken office today (Monday),” CBK said in a statement.
Thugge will be deputised by Susan Koech, a banker and formerly the principal secretary for tourism and wildlife.
Dr. Thugge has had a long and distinguished career in the international and Kenyan public service. He worked in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in both policymaking and non-policymaking departments.
These include the Policy Review and Development Department and the Trade Policy Division. In these roles, Dr. Thugge helped to design the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC) as well as other policy initiatives. He also worked on various Article IV missions. Dr. Thugge also served as Mission Chief to Botswana and Lesotho in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis.
Dr. Thugge has held various senior roles in Kenya, including as the Head of the Fiscal and Monetary Affairs Department at the National Treasury, as Economic Secretary and as Senior Economic Advisor.
He also served as Principal Secretary at the National Treasury, and lately as Senior Advisor to the President and Head of Fiscal and Budget Affairs.
Dr. Thugge helped to design and implement various laws including the Public Finance Management Act, the Commission on Revenue Allocation Act, the Independent Officers (Appointment) Act, the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Act, and many more.
In these roles, he also served on various boards including that of the Central Bank of Kenya, the Monetary Policy Advisory Committee (and later the Monetary Policy Committee), the Kenya Revenue Authority and the Capital Markets Authority.
The Governor holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Colorado College, and Master’s and PhD Degrees in Economics from Johns Hopkins University in the United States.