University of East Anglia alumna appointed to senior Vatican role
By: Communications
A University of East Anglia graduate has been appointed to one of the most senior leadership positions in the Vatican.
Sister Alessandra Smerilli, who completed her PhD in Economics at UEA, has been appointed by Pope Leo XIV as Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.
The appointment makes her only the third woman to lead a Vatican dicastery - one of the Holy See's most senior administrative offices.
Sister Smerilli currently serves as the second-in-command in the dicastery, which is responsible for migrants, the environment, and development, and will succeed the retiring Canadian Cardinal Michael Czerny, who is set to turn 80 this month.
Professor Robert Sugden, from UEA's School of Economics, said: “Alessandra was a PhD student in economics in the early 2010s and I was one of her supervisors, together with Professor Shaun Hargreaves Heap, who now works at King's College London.
“She wrote a great thesis reporting experiments and theoretical work on 'team reasoning' - the idea that people can solve problems requiring co-ordination or co-operation by looking for the combination of actions that is best for them 'as a team' and then each playing their part in this combination.
“After leaving UEA, she has taught economics at an Italian university and has worked in the department of the Vatican that promotes human development around the world.
“Alongside this work, she has been active in a group of academics who favour a 'civil economy' approach to economics in which team reasoning ideas have a natural fit.
“She and I often meet at this group's workshops and conferences. It's great to hear that the Vatican has recognised her ability by appointing her to such a high office. I'm proud to have had some role in her career and to have her as a friend.”
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