Manila, April 26 : The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced Friday that Takehiko Nakao has been unanimously elected as president by its Board of Governors.

Nakao, 57, is Japan's former vice minister of finance for international affairs. He will assume office as the Manila-based lender's ninth president April 28, reported Xinhua.

He will finish the unexpired term of his predecessor Haruhiko Kuroda which ends Nov 23, 2016. Kuroda resigned as ADB president in March following his nomination as governor of the Bank of Japan.

"Nakao's extensive experience in international finance and development and broad and deep knowledge of the Asian region will serve ADB well in pursuing its vision of an Asia-Pacific region free of poverty," said P. Chidambaram, chair of the ADB Board of Governors and finance minister of India.

In a career spanning more than three decades, Nakao has held senior positions in Japan's finance ministry, with extensive experience in international finance and development.

Born in 1956, Nakao holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Tokyo and a Master of Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley. (IANS)