2024-04-13 18:50:13
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has been appointed “by consensus” for a second five-year term, the Fund’s Executive Board announced, AFP and Reuters reported.
The new term of Ms. Georgieva, who was the only nominated candidate, will begin on October 1, 2024, at the end of the current term, the IMF said in a statement.
“The Board praised Ms. Georgieva’s strong and flexible performance during her tenure, dealing with a series of major global shocks,” the Board said in a statement.
Last month, the finance ministers of the European Union approved Kristalina Georgieva for a second term at the head of the IMF, effectively guaranteeing her re-election, according to Reuters. Traditionally, European countries recommend the managing director of the IMF, and the United States recommends the head of the World Bank.
Georgieva stated that she was grateful to the board and that she was honored to be elected for a second term. She said she looked forward to continuing to work with the IMF’s “exceptional” team.
“In recent years, the IMF has helped our member countries cope with successive shocks, including pandemic, war and conflict, as well as the cost of living crisis,” said the Bulgarian economist. “We have also strengthened our work on the issues of climate change, fragility and conflict, and the digital transition, in line with their increased importance for macroeconomic and financial stability, growth and employment,” Georgieva said, quoted by Reuters and BTA.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she looks forward to working with Georgieva to strengthen the IMF’s support for low-income countries and the wider membership through well-developed IMF lending programs.
“The IMF plays an important and unique role in the international monetary system. Through its policy advice, lending and capacity building, the IMF helps countries restore macroeconomic stability and strengthen growth prospects,” Yellen said.
Georgieva is the second woman to head the IMF, and the first from a country with a developing market economy. She is the twelfth managing director of the IMF since its founding in 1944, Reuters recalls.
A self-described “eternal optimist,” Georgieva has led the IMF through a period of major upheaval in the global economy, from the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic just months after she took office to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, notes Reuters.
It was initially criticized inside and outside the IMF for including climate change as a factor in monitoring member states’ economies and for its focus on developing economies, the agency recalled.
Georgieva was instrumental in securing large loans for Ukraine, oversaw the overhaul of Argentina’s massive loan program, and worked steadfastly to help China embrace sovereign debt restructuring.
She also overcame a personal challenge in 2021 when the IMF’s executive board expressed its full confidence in her after looking into allegations that she pressured officials to change data in China’s favor while working at the World Bank, Reuters recalls .