James Alic Garang

James Alic Garang (born 22 August 1976) is a South Sudanese economist and the current governor of the Bank of South Sudan. He previously served as a Senior Advisor to the Executive Director at the IMF Executive Board in Washington, DC. Garang assumed the office after being appointed by President Salva Kiir Mayardit on October 2, 2023.

Early life and education
Born in Ajok Village, Ayat Center, Aweil West County, Northern Bahr el Ghazal State in the present-day Sudan, Garang was born on 22 August 1976.

Education
Garang started his education at Torit Primary School in Ethiopia from 1988-1991. However, during the fall of the Ethiopian government in May 1991, he fled to Kenya without completing the 3rd grade. After settling in Kenya's Kakuma Refugee Camp, he enrolled at Juba Primary School from 1992-1997 where he successfully attained a Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE). He got a scholarship under the Jesuit Refugee Services (JRS) and attended high school in Kakuma Boys’ Secondary School located in Turkana District, Kenya from 1998-2001.

After completing high school, Garang relocated to the United States through the Lost Boys of Sudan program. He immediately enrolled at Salt Lake Community College, where he graduated with an Associate Degree in 2003. In May 2006, he graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics. In December 2009, he attained a Master of Arts Degree in Economics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and in May 2014, he attained a PhD in Economics from the same institution.

Banking Career
Garang worked as an intern for African Development Bank in Tunis, Tunisia between 2009 and 2010. He was also the banking sector's lead evaluator for the Comprehensive Evaluation of the Government of Southern Sudan from 2006-2010. He also worked as a consultant of the Republic of South Sudan (June –August 2011) and World Bank South Sudan Office (2013-2014).

Garang was an advisor to the Executive Director (AfG1 Constituency) of the International Monetary Fund (2017-2021), and Senior Advisor of the IMF Executive Director (AfG1 Constituency) (2021-2023). He also worked as consultant of World Bank South Sudan Office (2013-2014); National Consultant on “Assessing Economic Benefits and Costs of South Sudan Accession to EAC,” Imani Development Ltd, South Africa (2014-2015); Columnist of the Juba Telegraph, and Senior Economist with the Ebony Center for Strategic Studies based in Juba, South Sudan.