Mir Nadia Nivin made chairman of Idra

The government has appointed Mir Nadia Nivin as the chairman of the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (Idra) for a three-year term.

Nivin, who received her higher education from Harvard University in the United States, will be Idra’s first female chairperson, according to a circular issued by the Financial Institutions Division yesterday.

A Bangladeshi governance and institutional reform specialist, she served as a member of the Electoral System Reform Commission, established by the interim government in October 2024.

She brings extensive experience in democratic governance, institutional reform, and peacebuilding, having held senior roles with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Malaysia.

From 2020 to 2023, she led UNDP’s Strategic Management Unit and Digital Transformation initiatives, overseeing programmes aimed at enhancing transparency and institutional efficiency.

Nivin has also worked as a lecturer at BRAC University and as a journalist, contributing to public discourse on governance.

Recognised by the Asia Society in 2019 as an “Asia 21 Young Leader”, she has played an influential role in shaping democratic reforms.