Mir Nadia Nivin, an international development and institutional reform specialist, has been appointed as the new chairman of the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA).
With this appointment, she makes history as the first female chairperson of the country's insurance sector regulatory body since its inception.
The Financial Institutions Division of the Ministry of Finance issued an official gazette notification on Tuesday making the appointment for a three-year tenure.
An alumnus of Harvard University, Nivin possesses an extensive professional background in global governance. She previously served as a member of the Election Reform Commission during the interim government led by Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus.
Between 2020 and 2023, she held key high-level portfolios at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) across Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Malaysia.
In 2019, Nivin was named in the prestigious 'Asia 21 Young Leaders' list by the US-based Asia Society, which recognizes exceptional achievers under the age of 40 across 39 Asian countries. Prior to joining the United Nations, she taught at BRAC University in Dhaka and also worked in journalism for a brief period.
Since beginning its official journey on January 11, 2011, IDRA has been headed by five chairmen. Actuary M. Shefaque Ahmed served as the founding chairman for two consecutive terms spanning six years. He was followed by former Financial Institutions Division Secretary Shafiqur Rahman Patwari, who successfully completed a three-year regular term.
However, the subsequent three leaders—private sector executive M. Mosharraf Hossain, former Planning Secretary Mohammad Jainul Bari, and former Financial Institutions Division Secretary M. Aslam Alam—all exited the top regulatory position prematurely before completing their designated tenures.
Industry stakeholders expect that Nivine's extensive global experience in institutional reform and public policy will bring much-needed structural modernization, discipline, and corporate governance to the country's insurance market.