Mamphela Ramphele

Trained as a doctor and anthropologist, Dr. Ramphele accepted the World Bank appointment in 2000. As a member of the senior leadership team, she is responsible for managing the institution’s human development activities in the areas of education; health, nutrition and population; and social protection. She oversees the World Bank Institute, the Bank's teaching arm. She is also responsible for the World Bank’s relationship with the Group of 20, an international group of finance ministers and central bank governors.

In 1996, she was appointed Vice-Chancellor at the University of Cape Town, the first black woman to hold this position at a South African university. She left the position to join the World Bank.

Dr. Ramphele grew up in the era of apartheid in South Africa. She obtained her medical degree at the University of Natal in 1972. As a student, she was involved in the anti-apartheid Black Consciousness Movement and as a result was exiled to the northern part of South Africa by the country’s government from 1977 to 1984. There she worked with the rural poor. She has been internationally recognized for her work on behalf of disadvantaged and poor people.