Biography of Joachim Von Amsberg

Joachim Von Amsberg
Incoming Country Director, Indonesia
July 2007

Joachim joined the World Bank in 1993 as an Economist and Young Professional and worked on World Bank supported environmental programs and policy studies for Argentina, Chile, and Paraguay in the Latin America and Caribbean Region, as well as policy studies in Egypt. Subsequently, he worked for many years on the World Bank’s Brazil program.  He moved from the role of a sector economist (working on policy studies and projects in environmental management, rural and urban development), to country economist in the Brasilia country office (focusing primarily on poverty strategies and policies), and then to Lead Economist, at the World Bank Headquarters where he led the economic policy dialogue, analytical and advisory assistance and adjustment lending programs for the Government of Brazil.

In 2004, Joachim was appointed World Bank Country Director for the Philippines. Based on broad stakeholder consultations, he led a new World Bank strategy for enhanced support to the Philippines. This strategy supported “Islands of Good Governance” (successful experiences of public service delivery and effective public institutions) which demonstrated how improved accountability and service delivery would lead to better economic and social outcomes.  The goal was to help expand these successful experiences to stimulate a virtuous cycle of more effective public institutions, fiscal improvements, economic growth, poverty reduction, and greater social inclusion. Under this strategy, World Bank programs were scaled up significantly, aligned more closely with the country’s own priorities, and implemented, as far as possible, through the country’s own systems and institutions.

Joachim contributed to policy debates on the Philippines’ fiscal and social agenda. With the support of the World Bank, the Consultative Group of the Philippines was transformed into the Philippines Development Forum, a more dynamic, participatory process that included various key players in government, civil society and the private sector, and the international development community, and discussed and pursued critical reforms to support the country’s development agenda. Government’s implementation of policy reforms and the resulting fiscal turn-around during the period, led in 2006 to the World Bank’s first Development Policy Loan for the Philippines in eight years. 

Joachim was a member of the steering committee that oversaw preparation of the World Bank’s new Governance and Anti-Corruption Strategy and of several task forces to strengthen the World Bank’s programs in support of Middle Income Countries.

Joachim has a Ph.D. in Finance and Economic Policy from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, completed in 1993; an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Technische Universitaet Berlin, Germany, completed in 1991; and an M.B.A. major in Finance from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, completed in 1990.  Joachim is a German national, is married to Anjum Khan, and has three children.