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New IMF head announced – first emerging market representative

New IMF head announced – first emerging market representative

(25 September 2019 – Global) Bulgarian economist Kristalina Georgieva has been confirmed as the new managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the first person from an emerging market economy to head the IMF and its allocation of US$1 trillion in economic crisis funding.

On a leave of absence from her post as CEO of the World Bank during the IMF nomination process, she stated that she was in high gear with her “sleeves rolled, ready to work” when she starts the job. She will face mounting economic headwinds as the IMF head, including a global economic slowdown triggered by escalating trade tensions between the United States and China, and historically high debt levels.

Georgieva’s nomination has resulted in great pride in her home country of Bulgaria which was the recipient of an IMF rescue program in the 1990s. Georgieva replaces Christine Lagarde, who became the first woman to head the IMF when she took the role in 2011. Lagarde guided the crisis lender through the European sovereign debt crisis, which began about a month after she took office. She is departing to head the European Central Bank.

The United States, which represents the largest voting bloc on the IMF board, has withdrawn from multilateral accords, and risks are growing in emerging markets such as Argentina which in 2018 received a US$57 billion bailout, the IMF’s largest ever.

“Warning signs are flashing, and we must be ready to be tested” she stated

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