Ousmane Diagana

Ousmane Diagana, a Mauritanian national, has been the World Bank’s Vice President for West and Central Africa since 1 July 2020. In this role, he coordinates the World Bank’s relations with 22 countries and manages a portfolio of projects, technical assistance and financial resources worth more than $40 billion.

Prior to his appointment, Mr Diagana was the World Bank Group’s Vice President for Human Resources. In this capacity, he led the Bank’s overall human resources strategy and oversaw the development and implementation of the World Bank Group’s people management strategy, as well as human resources policies, programmes and services.

From October 2015 to January 2018, Mr Diagana was Vice President in charge of the Ethics and Compliance Department of the World Bank Group.

A mentor and professional role model, Mr Diagana is recognised for his organisational leadership. He brought to this role a deep knowledge of World Bank operations, innovative and strategic thinking, proven management skills and a unique perspective on country offices.

Previously, he was the World Bank’s Director of Operations for Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Benin, Guinea and Togo, based in Abidjan. Prior to that, he was based in Bamako as the World Bank’s Operations Director for Mali, Niger, Chad and Guinea. Between 2006 and 2009, he was Senior Programme Officer in Morocco. In this capacity, he effectively supervised diverse and multidisciplinary teams in the implementation of innovative strategies and operations, including in fragile and conflict-affected states. In 2009, Mr Diagana received the Good Manager Award from the World Bank Group Staff Association in recognition of his leadership.

Ousmane Diagana joined the Bank in 1992. He holds a degree in economics, finance and planning, as well as a diploma in education policy and analysis, and speaks six languages (French, English, Arabic, Soninke, Fulani and Wolof).