Ali M. El-Agraa è nato il 1º gennaio del 1941 a Wad Medani una città del Sudan circa 200 Km. a sudest di Khartoum, ma all'età di 24 anni si è trasferito in Inghilterra dove ha preso la residenza.

 Ali ha preso un dottorato presso l'Università di Leeds ed un altro presso quella di Kyushu in Giappone, Paese nel quale è anche Professore Emerito della Fukukoa University.

 Economista di fama è sposato con Diana Latham Moult da cui ha avuto due figli.

 Per quasi vent'anni ha vissuto in Giappone e per uno ha soggiornato negli Stati Uniti ospite della Vanderbilt University del Tennessee.

 Cittadino del mondo, ha scritto diversi testi di economia ed è stato consulente economico per le Nazioni Unite.

 Grande camminatore, ama molto viaggiare con la moglie ed è anche un ottimo bridgista ed un appassionato di musica e di opera.

  Ali M. El-Agraa is an economist. He was born on 1 January 1941 in Wad Medani, Sudan, but at age 24, he left for England where he became a permanent resident and later acquired a British citizenship. He is married to Diana Latham Moult and has a son (Mark Stephen) and daughter (Frances Hannah), who are all English.

 Despite being British, and now back in the UK after more than two decades in Japan, he deems himself to be a global citizen. This is because he has spent 25 years in Europe, about another 20 in each of Africa and Asia plus one year in the USA as Visiting Professor of Economics at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

 He was invited to Fukuoka University (Japan) in 1988 while he was Visiting Professor with the International University of Japan (1984-6), on leave from the University of Leeds (UK), which he joined in 1971, but with which he had been associated since 1964. His main academic field is International Economics, with several books (some translated into Japanese and Chinese), and most of his research is on International Economic Integration, with the 9th edition of his 1980 EU book to be published as a students’ text in August 2011 by Cambridge University Press.

 He holds Doctorates from the University of Leeds (PhD) and Kyushu University (Japan; DSc). Inter alia, he: has acted as General Consultant for the Anglo-Japanese Economic Institute (London, 1996–2002) and Senior International Consultant for the United Nations (2001); is entered in several “Who’s Who”, including the first edition of Who’s Who in European Integration Studies (Baden Baden: Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft), 1989, on the nomination of UACES (Universities Association for Contemporary European Studies; UK); has been endowed with a Life-time Professorship by Wuhan University (People’s Republic of China), 1990–; and, was (jointly) awarded The Daeyang Prize for the best article published in 2008 in the Journal of Economic Integration. He is now Emeritus Professor of International Economic Integration, Fukuoka University.

Ali is married to Diana who has devoted her career to education and educational administration and who is fluent in several languages, including Latin, French, Japanese and English. Ali’s mother tongue is Arabic, but is no longer confident in it, his main language being English.

He is keen on fitness, jogging 5 miles, three times per week, going to the gym regularly and walking a lot.

He and his wife enjoy visiting Kew Garden and stately homes and travel a lot.

He is also a keen Bridge player and loves music and opera.