Firas Raad

Country Manager for Malaysia, World Bank Group

Firas Raad, a Jordanian National, is the World Bank Country Manager in Malaysia. He was formerly the Country Manager for Kuwait. Raad joined the World Bank in 2002 as a Senior Health Policy Specialist. More recently, he was working in the Health, Nutrition and Population (HNP) Global Practice. He has extensive health policy experience in various countries in the Middle East and North Africa region. Prior to 2009, Raad focused on implementing health sector reforms in Lebanon, Palestine and Egypt. He also served as the World Bank Human Development Coordinator for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Between 1997 and 2000, Raad was the Private Secretary for Health Affairs in the Royal Jordanian Court providing health sector reform policy advice.

Between 2009 and 2013, Raad took a leave of absence from the World Bank and worked in the Quartet Mission in Jerusalem, first as an Advisor and later as Head of the Mission, to support Palestinian economic development.

His primary research interests are in health equity, health financing and health systems reform. He is a founding member of several regional and international organizations dedicated to peace-building, sustainable development and global health. He has published several articles on public health and development. He has a PhD in International Health Policy and Economics from the Harvard School of Public Health, and a Master’s degree in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.