1. The Road to Democracy:
the Arab Region, Latin America and Eastern Europe
Speakers Bios
Ahmad Dallal
Provost, American University of Beirut and Professor of History, Department of History &
Archaeology, AUB
Ahmad Dallal is provost of the American University of Beirut and professor of history in its
Department of History and Archaeology. He joined AUB in the summer of 2009 from
Georgetown University in Washington, DC, where he served as the chair of the Department of
Arabic and Islamic Studies. His previous academic appointments were at Stanford University
(2000-03), Yale University (1994-2000), and Smith College (1990-94). Dr. Dallal¹s scholarship
focuses on the history of science, Islamic revivalist thought, and Islamic law. His most recent
publication, Islam, Science, and the Challenge of History, which traces the historical
delineations between scientific knowledge and religious authority in Muslim societies, is based
on the Dwight H. Terry lectures that he delivered at Yale University in February 2008. He
received his BE (1980) from AUB¹s Department of Mechanical Engineering, and his Ph.D. (1990)
in Islamic Studies from Department of Middle East Languages and Cultures at Columbia
University in 1990.
Gerardo della Paolera
President, Global Development Network
Gerardo della Paolera is the President of Global Development Network and has been pivotal in
developing the organization’s Business Plan as well as strengthening its role in building
research capacity in developing and transition countries around the world. Dr. della Paolera is
well-known for his outstanding work at Universidad Torcuato Di Tella (UTDT) in Buenos Aires,
Argentina, and at The American University of Paris (AUP) in Paris, France, in both cases as
President of these institutions as well as in research. At present, Dr. della Paolera is a Professor
at the Central European University (CEU) in Budapest (on leave); Earlier he was Professor of
Economics at UTDT from 1992-2002 and at AUP from 2002-2010, and a Visiting Fellow at the
Paris School of Economics. A world-renowned expert on Latin American economic history, he
holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Chicago.

2. Samir Makdisi
Professor Emeritus of Economics, American University of Beirut
Professor Emeritus of Economics; Distinguished Senior Fellow, Issam Fares Institute for Public
Policy and International Relations; and Founding Director of the Institute of Financial
Economics, all at the American University of Beirut. He has served as Minister of Economy and
Trade, Republic of Lebanon, 1992; Deputy President of AUB, 1992-1998; Chair of the Board of
Trustees, Economic Research Forum, 1993-2001 (headquarters in Cairo), re-elected as a
member of the Board in 2011; member of the Board of the Global Development Network,
2000-2008 (headquarters in Delhi); an elected member of the Board of Directors of the Euro-
Mediterranean Economic Research Institutes (headquarters in Marseilles). He is the recipient
of a number of awards including the AUB medal (1998). Widely published, he is the author of
the Lessons of Lebanon, the Economics of War and Development (2004) and co-editor (with
Ibrahim Elbadawi) of Democracy in the Arab World: Explaining the Deficit (2011). He received
his BA in Economics (with distinction) from the American University of Beirut and his Ph.D. in
Economics from Columbia University (New York).
Boris Vujcic
Deputy Governor, Croatian National Bank; Professor, University of Zagreb, Croatia and GDN
Board of Directors
Boris Vujčid has been a Professor of Economics at the University of Zagreb since 2003. He
worked as Deputy Chief Negotiator for Croatia's entry into the EU, between 2005 and 2012. He
was a consultant to the European Commission, DG-II Economic and Financial Affairs in 1996.
Between 1992 and 1994 Dr. Vujčid was a visiting fellow at the Institute of Development
Studies at the University of Sussex in Brighton, visiting lecturer at the University of Freiberg,
Germany and visiting scholar at the University of Kentucky, United States of America. Dr. Vujčid
joined the Croatian National Bank in 1997, where he was Director of the Research Department
for three years, before becoming Deputy Governor in 2000. His research interests include
macroeconomics, international finance and labor economics. He holds a B.A., M.A. and a Ph.D.
in Economics from the University of Zagreb. In addition, he has received diplomas in Economics
from the Montpellier University (France), the Michigan State University and in-service training
at the European Commission in the Monetary Matters Department in Brussels.
Torcuato Di Tella
Ambassador of Argentina to Italy
Torcuato Di Tella, born in Buenos Aires, in 1929, specializes on the comparative study of Latin
American political systems. He is an emeritus professor at the University of Buenos Aires. He
was visiting professor at various universities. He is the author of several books translated into
English, Latin American Politics (Austin, 2001), National Popular Politics in Early Independent
Mexico (Albuquerque, 1996) and History of Political Parties in Latin America (New Brunswick,
2004). Together with his brother Guido he was a founder, in 1958, of the Instituto Torcuato Di
Tella, which later became a university (1990). He was named Emeritus Professor at the
University of Buenos Aires in 2003; was national Secretary of Culture between May 2003 and
November 2004, and Argentine Ambassador to Italy from November 2010.

3. Noha El-Mikawy
Regional Representative for the Middle East and North Africa, The Ford Foundation
Noha El-Mikawy serves as the Regional Representative for the Ford Foundation's Middle East
and North Africa office in Cairo, Egypt. She oversees the foundation's grant making in the
region and her work concentrates on issues of equity, inclusion and civic engagement by
supporting transparency, integrity and accountability; social, economic and cultural rights;
creative arts; media; and higher education. Before this, she served as a team leader for
democratic governance at the UNDP regional center in the Arab States Region. Previously, Dr.
El-Mikawy led Middle East focused comparative research on political economy and institutional
analysis at the Centre for Development Research at the University of Bonn, Germany, in
collaboration with the Economic Research Forum for the Arab States, Iran and Turkey. She
began her career lecturing and writing on politics of the Middle East at the American University
in Cairo, Free University of Berlin and Erlangen-Nuremberg University. She has written two
books on politics of reform in Egypt and one comparative book on processes of economic
reform, participation and legislation in Egypt, Jordan and Morocco. She holds a Ph.D. and M.A.
both from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Moez Labidi
Professor of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Management of Mahdia, University of
Monastir and Board Member of the Central Bank of Tunisia
Dr. Moez Labidi, Professor of Economy, earned his Doctorate from the University of Nice
Sophia-Antipolis, France. Following positions as Consultant and Associate Professor at the
University of Paris Est and European Business School (Paris), he joined the University of
Monastir in 1999. His teaching interests focus on international finance and monetary policy.
After the revolution, in February 2011, he joined the Board of the Central Bank of Tunisia. His
research is broadly concerned with Monetary Policy Transmission, Banking Sector Regulation
and Asset Prices Bubbles. His recent Publications are: Crédibilité monétaire et instabilité
financière: lorsque le "free lunch" intoxique les marchés, Annales des Sciences Economiques et
de Gestion, 2011 and Les stratégies de sortie de la crise: quels défis, in Dhifallah S.M. "La crise
financière internationale: Aspects théoriques et empiriques, Imprimerie Officielle, 2011.
Rami Khoury
Director, Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs, American University
of Beirut
Mr. Rami Khoury is the Director of Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International
Affairs at the American University of Beirut. He is a book author and writes an internationally
syndicated weekly column. He is a lecturer at the University of Chicago and Northeastern
University in the USA. Mr. Khoury is also a non-resident senior fellow at the Dubai Initiative-
Belfer Center/JFK School of Government at Harvard University. Before this, Mr. Khoury was
editor in chief of the Jordan Times newspaper, hosted television and radio shows on current
affairs and ancient history and archaeology, was general manager of Al Kutba, Publishers, and
wrote for leading international publications, including the Financial Times, the Boston Globe
and the Washington Post. He often comments on Mideast issues in the international media,
including the BBC and U.S. National Public Radio, and lectures frequently at conferences and
universities throughout the world. Mr. Khoury holds a MSc degrees in Mass Communications
from Syracuse University (USA) and BA in Political Science.