Monrovia – The new World Bank Country Manager for Liberia, Ms. Larisa Leshchenko, has assumed her responsibilities.
In this new position, Ms. Leshchenko will lead the Bank’s day-to-day dialogue with the Government and key stakeholders in Liberia on a broad range of issues including the structural reform agenda and management of the portfolio.
She will also lead the implementation of the Country Partnership Strategy in close collaboration with other development partners (bilateral donors, civil society, etc).
Ms. Leshchenko, a Ukrainian national, joined the Bank in August 1996 as an Operations Analyst in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) Region.
She has since held various positions in the ECA and Africa regions, including Senior Economist in Ukraine, Senior Country Officer in Nigeria and in Southern Africa. Her most recent assignment was Country Manager for Azerbaijan.
Prior to joining the World Bank, she worked as a research fellow at the Institute of Cybernetics and the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences.
She holds a PhD in operations research with specialization in stochastic optimization.
Ms. Leshchenko graduated with an MA equivalent in economic cybernetics from the Kiev National University named after T. Shevchenko in 1981.
In 1992-93 she studied at the Economic Department of the Central European University in Prague, Czech Republic, and holds another MA diploma in economics from New York State University.
In 1993-94 she was a research fellow at Oxford University, UK. Ms. Leshchenko is the author or co-author of various Bank’s publications and research papers.