Research Associate on the Diplomacy of International Finance and Development
Tel: +27 (0)12 337 6082
Mr. Michael Sachs holds an MSc in Economics from the University of London (SOAS). He is currently a studying at the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he is completing an MPA in International Development. After he graduates in 2011 he will return to full time employment at Treasury. He completed his secondary education at the Solomon Mahlangu Freedom College in Tanzania, an institution through which the then-banned ANC sought to build the aptitudes and attitudes that would enable reconstruction and development in a democratic South Africa. Since then he has held a number of positions in political, public service and civil society organisations. During the 1990s, his work related to election campaigns, building community organisations and helping to create new government agencies and legislative institutions. In 2001 he was appointed as research coordinator at the national headquarters of the African National Congress. He also took on the responsibility of coordinating the organisation’s Economic Transformation Committee. During this time he published a number of articles in the ANC’s in-house journal Umrabulo, including ‘Has Socialism Left the Party?: Reflections on the 12th National Congress of the SACP’, ‘China’s leap into the heart of the twenty first century’ and ‘Unity in action at the ballot box: an analysis of the results of election 2004.
In 2008 he was appointed as a Chief Director: International Finance and Development at the National Treasury and played a central role in government’s engagement with a range of international organisations including the World Bank, IMF and the Group of 20 during the global financial crisis. His research interests include international economics and political economy, macroeconomic policy, global governance and African economic development.
