THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive board on Friday selected Kristalina Georgieva to serve as IMF managing director for a second five-year term starting on October 1, 2024.
This came as the IMF and the World Bank Group begin their week-long 2024 Spring Meetings in Washington, DC, US.
The board’s decision was by consensus following several discussions, including with Georgieva, the sole candidate nominated for the position.
In a statement on Friday, the co-ordinators of the executive board, Afonso Bevilaqua and Abdullah BinZarah, said the board commended Georgieva’s strong and agile leadership during her term, navigating a series of major global shocks.
“Georgieva led the IMF’s unprecedented response to these shocks, including the approval of more than $360 billion (R6.8 trillion) in new financing since the start of the pandemic for 97 countries, debt service relief to the Fund’s poorest, most vulnerable members, and a historic Special Drawing Rights (SDR) allocation equivalent to $650bn,” they said.
“Looking ahead, the board welcomes Ms Georgieva’s ongoing emphasis on issues of macroeconomic and financial stability, while also ensuring that the Fund continues to adapt and evolve to meet the needs of its entire membership.”
Georgieva has served as IMF managing director since October 1, 2019.
The managing director is the chief of the IMF’s operating staff and chair of the executive board, and is assisted by four deputy managing directors in overseeing the Fund’s operations, which serve its membership through about 3 100 staff.
Previously she served as CEO of the World Bank from January 2017 and the Interim President for the World Bank Group from February 1, 2019, to April 8, 2019.
Georgieva has a PhD in Economic Science and an MA in Political Economy and Sociology from the University of National and World Economy in Bulgaria, where she also taught from 1977 to 1991.
She said she was deeply grateful for the trust and support of the Fund’s executive board, representing the IMF’s 190 members, and honoured to continue to lead the IMF.
“In recent years, the IMF has helped our member countries to navigate successive shocks, including the pandemic, war and conflicts, and a cost-of-living crisis,” Georgieva said.
“We also stepped up our work on climate change, fragility and conflict, and the digital transition, in line with their increased significance for macroeconomic and financial stability, growth and employment.
“We are and will remain a transmission line of good policies for our members and will continue to strive to be more effective, incisive and a welcoming place for countries to come together to tackle global challenges.”
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