Executive Director, African Development Bank

Mr. Paal Bjornestad took up his position as Executive Director of the African Development Bank in August. Previously, he serving as Deputy Head of the Norwegian Embassy in Pretoria. He was State Secretary (Deputy Minister) of the Ministry of Finance from 2013-2016, where he worked on macroeconomic issues and the mandate of the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund (Government Pension Fund Global). He has also served in the Norwegian Embassy in Saudi Arabia and at the Mission of Norway to the EU.

Mr. Bjornestad has a graduate degree in economics (cand.oecon) from the University of Oslo and a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University in New York.

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