Farhat Bengdara is a banking, energy, and investment executive with more than 30 years of experience across central banking, commercial finance, oil and gas, and institutional governance in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.

He served as Governor of the Central Bank of Libya from 2006 to 2011, a period of significant financial reform. Under his watch, Libya eliminated its parallel foreign exchange market, stabilised its exchange rate, lifted restrictions on foreign currency transfers, and modernised its national payments system, changes that reshaped the country's financial infrastructure.

 

During the same period, he held a series of regional appointments, including Chairman of the Association of African Central Banks, Chairman of the Founding Committee of the African Investment Bank, and Chairman of the Council of Arab Central Bank Governors.

In the private sector, his career has taken him to the boardrooms of some of the world's most respected financial institutions. He served as Vice Chairman of UniCredit Group, Chairman of Arab Banking Corporation International Bank in London, and advisor to Standard Chartered Bank. He currently serves as Non-Executive Deputy Chairman at Bank Al Masraf in the UAE.

Between 2022 and 2024, Bengdara served as Chairman of the National Oil Corporation of Libya, one of Africa's largest energy companies, where he focused on strengthening governance and institutional performance across the sector.

He is also the founder of Sohoul Agriculture, an integrated agricultural venture focused on olive cultivation and environmentally responsible farming in Libya, and home to one of the world's largest hyper-intensive olive oil farms.

Bengdara holds a Master's Degree in Monetary Economics and Banking from the University of Sheffield and a Bachelor's Degree in Economics from Garyounis University, Libya.