Farhat Bengdara

Farhat Bengdara is a banking, energy, and investment executive with over 30 years of experience across central banking, commercial finance, oil and gas, and institutional governance in the Arab world, Africa, and Europe.

He served as Governor of the Central Bank of Libya from 2006 to 2011, overseeing a period of significant financial reform including exchange rate stabilization, the elimination of the parallel foreign exchange market, and the modernization of Libya's national payments system. During this period he also held several regional appointments, including Chairman of the Association of African Central Banks, Chairman of the founding committee of the African Investment Bank, and Chairman of the Council of Arab Central Bank Governors.

In the private sector, Bengdara has held board-level roles at a number of financial institutions, including Vice Chairman of UniCredit Group, Chairman of Arab Banking Corporation International Bank in London, and currently Non-Executive Deputy Chairman at Bank Al Masraf in the UAE. Between 2022 and 2024, he served as Chairman of the National Oil Corporation of Libya.

He is also the founder of Sohoul Agriculture, an integrated agricultural venture with a focus on olive cultivation and environmentally conscious farming practices in Libya.

Bengdara holds a Master's Degree in Monetary Economics and Banking from the University of Sheffield and a Bachelor's Degree in Economics from Garyounis University, Libya.