Ezra Suruma (born 11 November 1945) is a Ugandan economist, banker, and academic. He became the chancellor of Makerere University in January 2016. He formerly served as a senior adviser to the president of Uganda on finance and economic planning, a position he held from 16 February 2009 until 15 January 2016. Previously, he was a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution, in Washington, D. C., at the Africa Growth Initiative division of the institution. He was appointed to that position in April 2010.
He was born in Kabale District in 1945. He holds a Bachelor of Science in finance from Fordham University in New York City, obtained in 1969. His Master of Arts degree in economics was obtained in 1972, also from Fordham University. His Doctor of Philosophy in economics was obtained in 1976 from the University of Connecticut. He also has a master's degree in computer science and one in international banking.
Before his government and private sector work, Suruma worked as a professor of economics and management at Makerere University and at Florida A&M University. In 1987, he joined the Bank of Uganda, the country's central bank, as the director of research, serving in that capacity until 1990. From 1990 until 1993, he served as the deputy governor of the Bank of Uganda. In 1993, he left that position and joined Uganda Commercial Bank as the chairman and managing director, serving in that capacity until 1996.
Ezra (/ˈɛzrə/; Hebrew: עזרא, Ezra; fl. 480–440 BC), also called Ezra the Scribe (עזרא הסופר, Ezra ha-Sofer) and Ezra the Priest in the Book of Ezra, was a Jewish scribe and a priest. According to the Hebrew Bible he returned from the Babylonian exile and reintroduced the Torah in Jerusalem (Ezra 7–10 and Neh 8). According to 1 Esdras, a Greek translation of the Book of Ezra still in use in Eastern Orthodoxy, he was also a high priest.
Several traditions have developed over his place of burial. One tradition says that he is buried in al-Uzayr near Basra (Iraq), while another tradition alleges that he is buried in Tadif near Aleppo, in northern Syria.
His name may be an abbreviation of עזריהו Azaryahu, "God-helps". In the Greek Septuagint the name is rendered Ésdrās (Ἔσδρας), from which the Latin name Esdras comes.
The Book of Ezra describes how he led a group of Judean exiles living in Babylon to their home city of Jerusalem (Ezra 8.2-14) where he is said to have enforced observance of the Torah. He was described as exhorting the Israeli people to be sure to follow the Torah Law so as not to intermarry with people of particular different religions (and ethnicities), a set of commandments described in the Pentateuch.
Uzayr - most often identified with the Judeo-Christian Ezra (عزير, 'Uzair) - is a figure mentioned in the Qur'an, in the verse 9:30, which states that he was revered by the Jews as "the son of God". Jews do not agree on that statement. Historically, Muslim scholars have interpreted this verse as referring to a small group of Jews making such a reverence.
Ezra lived between the times of King Solomon and the time of Zachariah, father of John the Baptist. Although not explicitly mentioned in the Quran among the prophets, Ezra is considered as one by some Muslim scholars, based on Islamic traditions. On the other hand, Muslim scholars such as Mutahhar al-Maqdisi and Djuwayni and notably Ibn Hazm and al-Samaw'al accused Ezra (or one of his disciples) of falsification of the Torah. Several sources state that the Qur'an refers to Jews who began to call Ezra a "son of God" due to his religious achievements.
Gordon Darnell Newby states it may due to misunderstanding of Ezra's position in the Jewish faith as a Bene Elohim. Other Western scholars, relying on exegetical material from Ibn Abbas and Ibn Qutaybah, consider Uzair not to be Ezra but Azariah, mentioned in the Book of Daniel as Abednego.
Ezra is a male biblical name derived from Hebrew (עזרא) and must not be confused with the Turkish female name Esra. In a biblical context, Ezra refers to:
Ezra may also refer to: