After 31 Years... Asil Al-Munaifi Leaves the Ministry of Finance

After 31 years, Assistant Minister of Finance Asil Sulaiman Al-Saad Al-Munifi is preparing to leave her office, specifically on October 29 next year, as her appointment decree expires. She leaves behind a career marked by heavy reform dossiers and completed legislation in public finance and the ministry, alongside other files that remain pending completion, given their ongoing and sustainable nature.

During her tenure at the Ministry of Finance, Al-Munifi adhered to a central principle: “Steady leadership is not a sprint, but a marathon aimed at deepening the entrenchment of values among employees, which can shape generations, and implementing long-overdue structural reforms in public finance, requiring all relevant entities to assume their responsibilities.”

Al-Munifi spent 25 years in the Tax Administration. During the coronavirus pandemic, specifically on November 28, 2020, she assumed the duties of Assistant Minister on an acting basis, amid a period known for the collective resignation crisis of assistant ministers. She was subsequently confirmed as Assistant Minister of Finance on October 31, 2022, by virtue of her position.

Throughout her career, she served as Chairperson of the Committee for Re-examining Various Types of State Subsidies and Chairperson of the Public Debt Management Committee. She also held board memberships at the Central Bank of Kuwait, the Public Authority for Investment, the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, the Public-Private Partnership Authority, the Zakat House, the Scientific Research Center, and the Diplomatic Institute.

From the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 until the outbreak of the war between the United States and Iran on February 28 last year—which had serious economic and financial repercussions worldwide—the Ministry of Finance began facing a dual burden characterized by rising inflation and declining public liquidity. In response, she and her ministry team implemented plans to develop the ministry’s revenues and introduced several budgetary and expenditure control measures. Additionally, she contributed to filling vacancies, rebuilding the ministry from within, building capacity, and preparing second- and third-tier leadership. She also oversaw the development of the ministries complex, transforming it into an icon of government buildings.