July 18, 2013:

Mr. Ewart Williams, Chairman of the University of the West Indies (UWI) St. Augustine Campus Council and former Governor of the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago, was conferred the title of Distinguished Fellow in the Department of Economics of the Faculty of Social Sciences by the University Appointments Committee for the period August 1, 2013 – July 31, 2016.

Mr. Williams was awarded this title by the University in recognition of his distinguished record of scholastic and professional achievements in the area of monetary economics and his continued service to the St. Augustine Campus and the University in general. In this new capacity, he will be an Expert Member of the Monetary Economics Research Cluster within the Department of Economics. He will also mentor graduate and research students in preparation for their professional practice of Economics. Given Mr. Williams’ extensive experience at the policy making level of international, regional and local agencies, he will collaborate with academic staff to develop the skills of our graduate and research students in policy design.

Mr. Williams’ career at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) spanned the period 1971–2002. During that period he held several senior positions at the Fund including IMF Resident Representative to Jamaica and Senior Advisor/Deputy Director, Western Hemisphere Department. During his 30-year career at the Fund, Mr. Williams led IMF missions to several countries in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.  In 2001, he was the main architect of the Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centre (CARTAC), established by the IMF and other multilateral and bilateral agencies to assist the region in capacity building, in public finance, banking and statistics.  The Centre, which is located in Barbados, is now a principal source of technical assistance for Caribbean countries. Furthermore, CARTAC was the precursor to similar training institutions that were subsequently established in Africa and other parts of the world.

In 2002, Mr. Williams was invited by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to serve as Governor of the country’s Central Bank. Mr Williams also spearheaded a number of significant achievements for the bank including the establishment of the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund, the National Financial Literacy Program, the Financial Ombudsman Office, the publication of semi-annual Monetary Policy and Financial Stability reports, the development and introduction of the Real Estate Mortgage Market Guideline and Benchmark Interest Rate (MMRR), the establishment of the Bank’s Money Museum and the Bank’s charity programme “We Care”. His tenure culminated with the re-introduction of the TT$50 note in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of this country’s independence.

While serving as Central Bank Governor, he continued to serve in varying capacities at the local, regional and international levels. His served at the regional and international levels as Alternate Governor to the International Monetary Fund (2002-2010); Chairman, G24 Deputies, International Monetary Fund (2003-2004); Alternate Governor to the Inter-American Development Bank (2002-2010); Alternate Governor, Caribbean Development Bank (2002-2010), and Country Representative, International Working Group of Sovereign Wealth Funds (2008-2012). He also served locally as Chairman, Trinidad and Tobago Deposit Insurance Corporation (2002-2012); Member, Board of Directors, Caribbean Information and Credit Rating Services (2004-2012); Chairman of the Audit Committee, The UWI St. Augustine Campus (2007-2008), and Governor, Heritage and Stabilisation Fund (2007-2012).

As Governor of the Central Bank, Mr Williams published several articles and delivered several presentations and speeches to audiences at home and abroad. Notable among these are the presentations made to Sovereign Wealth Fund Conferences organised by the World Bank Treasury, Institutional Investor and Central Banking.com.

Mr. Williams has served as Chairman of The UWI St. Augustine Campus Council since 2009.

Courtesy the UWI