The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) selected Kristalina Georgieva to serve as IMF Managing Director and Chair of the Executive Board for a five-year term starting on October 1st, 2019.
Se succeeds Christine Lagarde, who left this position to become the President of the EU Central Bank. Giorgieva is the 2nd woman ever in the history of the IMF that has been appointed as Managing Director.
“For me, a huge honor to stand in front of you as the next Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund. I want to thank the Fund’s shareholders and the Executive Board for the trust they have just placed in me. I’m very fortunate to have and Christine Lagarde as my predecessor,” Ms. Georgieva told the press in Washington today.
Georgieva has been CEO of the World Bank from January 2017 to September 2019, during the mentioned term she also served as Interim President of the World Bank Group for three months.
“My immediate priority is for the IMF to help members minimize the risk of crises and be ready to cope with downturns should they occur. Yet, we should not lose sight of our long-term objective to build stronger economies and improve people’s lives on the foundation of sound monetary, fiscal, and structural policies. This means also dealing with issues like inequalities, climate, rapid technological change,”she underscored today.
The new IMF Managing Director also talked about the current global economic challenges awaiting her as new IMF chief: “I assume my position fully aware of the challenges we face. Global economic growth continues to disappoint, trade tensions persist and debt burdens are rising in many countries. As we will soon discuss at the Annual Meetings, warning signals are flashing and we must be ready to be tested.”
The selection of Kristalina Georgieva by the 24-member Executive Board representing the IMF’s 189 member countries brings to a conclusion the selection process initiated by the Executive Board on July 26th, 2019.
Image over the headline.- Kristalina Georgieva (Managing Director IMF).© IMF
Related Eastwind links:
Watch Kristalina Georgieva’s declarations after her election as IMF Managing Director (video)
Kristalina Georgieva Biography and CV
Related external links:
Statement by Kristalina Georgieva to IMF Board
