Masatsugu Asakawa re-elected for second term as ADB President

Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masatsugu Asakawa received unanimous support for a second term as ADB President from the members of ADB’s Board of Governors voting in the recently concluded election.

His new term runs for five years beginning on November 24, 2021.

Asakawa was first elected as ADB’s 10th President on November 30, 2019 and assumed the position on January 17, 2020, serving the remaining term of his predecessor, Takehiko Nakao.

“My vision for the upcoming term is for ADB to serve as the premier development institution for Asia and the Pacific as it supports its developing member countries (DMCs) in recovering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on a renewed path toward the prosperous, inclusive, resilient and sustainable future we envisioned in our Strategy 2030,” said Asakawa.

Since taking office in January 2020, ADB has made significant contributions to the region’s COVID-19 pandemic response and recovery planning with a US $ 20 billion comprehensive response package and US $ 9 billion Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility. 

ADB also concluded in September 2020 a successful replenishment of more than US $ 4 billion for its Asian Development Fund and Technical Assistance Special Fund, which provide critical grant resources for vulnerable DMCs.

Prior to joining ADB in 2019, Asakawa was the Special Advisor to Japan’s Prime Minister and Finance Minister and has a close-to-four decades’ career at the Finance Ministry, where he gained extensive and diverse experience in international finance and development. 

Asakawa also successfully led international taxation discussions, including Base Erosion Profit Shifting project, as Chair for Committee on Fiscal Affairs in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, from 2011 to 2016. 

Born in 1958, Asakawa holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Tokyo and a Master in Public Affairs from Princeton University.