Dar es Salaam. Tanzania is mourning the passing of veteran economist and banker Idris Rashidi, a public servant whose career spanned decades in the country’s financial sector.
Rashidi died on March 12 after a long illness, bringing to a close a career that touched some of Tanzania’s most important economic institutions.
A soft-spoken technocrat, Rashidi was widely known for his service at the Bank of Tanzania, where he served as the fourth governor between 1993 and 1998.
His tenure came at a time when Tanzania was navigating major economic reforms and a gradual transition towards a more market-oriented financial system.
Rashidi had a long association with the central bank.
He joined the institution in 1972 after graduating from the University of Dar es Salaam.
Over the years he rose through the ranks, building a reputation as a thoughtful economist and policy adviser.
In the early 1990s he was appointed managing director of the National Bank of Commerce, one of the country’s largest financial institutions at the time.
Soon afterwards he was called back to public service, becoming governor of the central bank following the death of his predecessor, Gilman Rutihinda.
During his years at the helm of the Bank of Tanzania, Rashidi worked alongside policymakers and financial institutions as the country undertook wide-ranging economic reforms.
These included changes to banking laws, foreign exchange regulations and broader financial sector restructuring aimed at stabilising the economy and expanding financial markets.
After leaving the central bank in 1998, Rashidi remained active in Tanzania’s financial industry.
He later took on leadership roles in commercial banking and financial services, continuing to share his experience with a new generation of professionals.
Colleagues remember him as a careful listener and a steady hand in complex policy debates.
Those who worked with him often described him as disciplined and deeply committed to strengthening Tanzania’s economic institutions.
His professional journey mirrored the country’s own economic transformation.
From the state-led policies of earlier decades to the liberalised financial environment that followed, Rashidi was among the technocrats who helped steer the transition.
With his passing, Tanzania loses a figure who quietly shaped its financial architecture.
His legacy remains embedded in the institutions he served and the reforms he helped guide.
