Former World Bank chief selected by IMF’s Executive Board as new Managing Director
A Bulgarian national has been selected to lead the International Monetary Fund according to an announcement made by the fund’s Executive Board.
On Thursday, the fund said its Executive Board has chosen Kristalina Georgieva, a former World Bank Chief Executive and an Economics professor, for a five-year term as the fund’s Managing Director starting next week on 01 October. She succeeds Christine Lagarde who is set to become the next president of the European Central Bank.
Ms Georgivia is the first person ever from an emerging market to the lead the IMF.
The selection of Ms Georgieva by the 24-member Executive Board representing the IMF’s 189 member countries concludes the selection process started in July this year.
The Managing Director is the chief of the IMF’s operating staff and Chair of the Executive Board. She is assisted by four Deputy Managing Directors in the operation of the Fund, which serves its membership through about 2,700 staff members.
Ms Georgieva has been the Chief Executive Officer of the World Bank since January 2017. From 01 February 2019 to 08 April 2019, she was the Interim President for the World Bank Group. Starting in 2010, she was at the European Commission, serving as Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, then as Vice President for Budget and Human Resources. She has a Ph.D. in Economic Science and an M.A. in Political Economy and Sociology from the University of National and World Economy in Bulgaria, where she also taught from 1977 to 1991.
