Mr. Humberto López is the World Bank Country Director for the Republic of Türkiye.

Mr. López was most recently the Director of Strategy and Operations for Eastern and Southern Africa. In this position, he supported the Vice President in defining and successfully implementing the strategy and work programs across the 26 countries in the region. The Vice Presidency oversees a portfolio of more than 350 projects valued at over $60 billion.

Prior to that assignment Mr. López was the World Bank Director of Strategy and Operations for Latin America and the Caribbean, where he also served as Acting Vice President for the region from September 2019 to June 2020.

He has also held other positions throughout his World Bank career, including: Country Director for Central America, where he was responsible for the implementation of the Bank portfolio, as well as for a broad operational program that includes technical assistance, financing instruments and knowledge products, and Director of the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Department in the Latin America and the Caribbean Region of the World Bank.

Mr. López has published extensively in several diverse areas such as fiscal policy, exchange rate, and growth, and is the editor of three books on free trade agreements, migration and remittances, and the role of the investment climate for growth. He was also the main author of the World Bank’s 2006 Latin America flagship report on growth and poverty reduction. Prior to joining the World Bank, Mr. López was a professor of Economics in the University of Salamanca (Spain) as well as visiting professor in Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge (U.S.A.).

He holds a PhD in Economics from the European University Institute in Florence, Italy.