Dr. Ikram Abdulaziz Al-Aqeel

Iraqi economist and public policy expert with more than four decades of experience spanning economic policy, public finance, investment, housing, industrial development, and government administration.

She holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Baghdad, where she also earned her Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Economics. Her doctoral research examined financial reform experiences in selected countries with reference to Iraq, while her master’s research focused on the role of fiscal policy in addressing Iraq’s indebtedness.

Dr. Al-Aqeel began her professional career at Iraq’s Ministry of Finance, working on the financial oversight of major economic sectors. She later contributed to the Economic Affairs Committee of the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers, providing input on economic, fiscal, and monetary policy, and served in a senior role at the Iraqi Fund for External Development. In 2004, she established the Iraq Housing Fund and served as its Director General, Chairman of its Board of Directors, and a member of its Board of Trustees until 2008.

She subsequently joined the National Investment Commission under the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, where she played a leading role in establishing coordination mechanisms with Iraq’s governorates and developing provincial investment structures. She also served as Director General of the Commission’s Economic and Technical Department. In 2021, she moved to the Ministry of Industry and Minerals, serving as Director General of Planning and later Director General of the Economic Department, in addition to exercising the authority of Iraq’s Registrar of Trademarks. Following her retirement from government service in 2023, she continued her advisory work, including with the Competition and Antitrust Council, and heads Tharwat Al-Umam Economic Advisory.

Alongside her public-sector career, Dr. Al-Aqeel has taught at the University of Baghdad and Al-Nahrain University and has participated in the supervision and examination of postgraduate research. She has taken part in more than 90 national, approximately 28 Arab, and 21 international conferences, and has published extensively on fiscal policy, financial markets, public debt, investment, monetary and financial stability, SME finance, and economic development.

Her public-service contributions have included participation in numerous national committees concerned with private-sector development, investment policy, poverty reduction, national development planning, financial reform, women’s economic empowerment, and Iraq’s engagement with international economic institutions. She has also served within professional and advisory organizations, including the Iraqi Economists Association and several economic and business bodies.