Kristalina Georgieva

By Ngozi Onyeakusi—The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it has selected Kristalina Georgieva to serve as IMF Managing Director for a second five-year term starting on October 1, 2024.

The Board’s decision was taken by consensus.

Meanwhile in her acceptance speech she said “I am deeply grateful for the trust and support of the Fund’s Executive Board, representing our 190 members, and honoured to continue to lead the IMF as Managing Director for a second five-year term. 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.  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.

“The IMF’s financial support, policy advice and capacity development work—delivered by our exceptional staff—have contributed to countries’ capacity to deal with high uncertainty and abrupt shifts in economic conditions. 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. I look forward to continue serving our membership, together with the highly professional and committed staff of the IMF.”

The Board had said “In line with the selection process it had established on March 13, 2024, the Board held several discussions, including with Ms. Georgieva, the sole candidate nominated for the position, before making its decision. According to IMF following today’s meeting, the Coordinators of the Executive Board, Mr. Afonso S. Bevilaqua and Mr. Abdullah F. BinZarah said “in taking this decision, the Board commended Ms. Georgieva’s strong and agile leadership during her term, navigating a series of major global shocks. Ms. Georgieva led the IMF’s unprecedented response to these shocks, including the approval of more than $360 billion 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 $650 billion.

“Under her leadership, the Fund introduced innovative new financing facilities, including the Resilience and Sustainability Facility and the Food Shock Window. It replenished the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust, with the capacity to mobilise concessional loans to its poorest members, and co-created the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable. It also secured a 50 percent quota increase to bolster the Fund’s permanent resources and agreed to add a third Sub-Saharan African chair to the IMF Board. 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. It recognises her focus on strengthening the Fund’s support to its members through effective policy advice, capacity development and financing. The Board looks forward to continuing to work closely with the Managing Director.”

“Ms. Georgieva has served as Managing Director since October 1, 2019. The Managing Director is the chief of the IMF’s operating staff and Chair of the Executive Board. The Managing Director is assisted by four Deputy Managing Directors in overseeing the Fund’s operations, which serve its membership through about 3,100 staff. Ms. Georgieva, a national of Bulgaria, has been the IMF’s Managing Director since 2019. Previously she served as Chief Executive Officer of the World Bank from  January 2017. From February 1, 2019, to April 8, 2019, she was the Interim President for the World Bank Group. She previously served at the European Commission as Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, and as Vice President for Budget and Human Resources. Ms. Georgieva has a Ph.D. in Economic Science and a 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”