Mr. Sufia holds a Master of Science in Economic Development and Planning from Addis Ababa University, a Bachelor of Arts Economics from Addis Ababa University. He is the current Chairperson of the Board of Directors of HESPI. Mr. Sufia served as State Minister of Finance and Economic Development of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia from 1996-2015. He worked as an advisor to Prime Minister of Ethiopia from 2015-2017. He was the Chairperson of the Ethiopian Macro Economic Team. He served at the forefront of the senior leadership team which guided Ethiopia to register double-digit economic growth for over 15 years. He has a broad international experience, skilled negotiator, experienced in governance reform, deep understanding of the challenges of accessing international capital markets and securing initial sovereign ratings.

He is Member of Advisory Board, Center for Disaster Protection, London. He was the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson of Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four on International Monetary Affairs and Development (G-24), member of the G20 Eminent Persons Group on the reform of the international financial architecture, Member of Board of Governors - World Bank, Member of Board of Governors - African Development Bank, Member of Board of Governors - United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Member of Board of Governors - African Export-Import Bank.