Peter Biar Ajak

Economist and Political Leader in exile; South Sudan

Peter Biar Ajak is a scholar, an activist, and a former political prisoner from South Sudan. He is a Visiting Fellow at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies of the National Defense University. Previously, he was the In-Country Economist for the World Bank and a Senior Advisor to the Minister of National Security in the Office of the President. Peter founded and led several organizations, including South Sudan Wrestling Entertainment, Juba-based Center for Strategic Analyses and Research, and South Sudan Young Leaders Forum.

He is a 2015 Millennium Fellow at the Atlantic Council, 2016 Tutu Fellow at the African Leadership Institute, Fall 2020 Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy, and a 2021 Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum. Peter received a BA in Economics from LaSalle University, Master of Public Administration in International Development from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and a PhD in Politics & International Studies from Cambridge University.