IMF Initiates Selection Process for Next Managing Director

COLOMBO (News 1st); The Board Coordinators of the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Afonso S. Bevilaqua and Abdullah F. BinZarah, announced a significant development in the process of selecting the next Managing Director of the IMF.

In a joint statement, the Coordinators expressed their satisfaction in announcing the adoption of an open, merit-based, and transparent process for the selection of the next Managing Director. 

This process echoes the methodology employed in recent selection rounds and underscores the critical importance placed by the Executive Board on appointing a candidate of global repute capable of leading the IMF, an institution pivotal to the global financial system.

The statement outlines key criteria for the selection of the Managing Director, emphasizing the need for a candidate with a distinguished record in economic policymaking at senior levels, exceptional professional credentials, and adept managerial and diplomatic skills required to helm a global institution. 

The selected candidate will be expected to provide strategic direction to the Fund's operations, foster collaboration with the Executive Board, and demonstrate a deep understanding of the diverse policy challenges facing the global membership.

The Board approved the decision as outlined below:

1.The successful candidate for the position of Managing Director will have a distinguished record in economic policymaking at senior levels. He or she will have an outstanding professional background, will have demonstrated the managerial and diplomatic skills needed to lead a global institution, and will be a national of any of the Fund’s members. As chief of the Fund’s staff and as Chair of the Executive Board, (s)he will be capable of providing strategic vision for the work of a high quality, diverse, and dedicated staff; and will be firmly committed to advancing the goals of the Fund by building consensus on key policy and institutional issues, including through close collaboration with the Executive Board, under whose direction (s)he will fulfill his or her responsibilities. (S)he will have a proven understanding of the Fund and the policy challenges facing the Fund’s diverse global membership. (S)he will have a firm commitment to, and an appreciation of, multilateral cooperation and will have a demonstrated capacity to be objective and impartial. (S)he will also be an effective communicator.

2. An individual may be nominated for the position of Managing Director by a Fund Governor or an Executive Director during a nomination period which shall commence on March 14, 2024, at 12:01 a.m. Washington, D.C. time and will close on April 3, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. Washington, D.C. time. All nominations shall be communicated to the Fund Secretary, who shall obtain confirmation from each nominee of his or her willingness to be considered as a candidate. The Fund Secretary shall hold the names of the nominees in confidence until the end of the nomination period.

3. At the end of the nomination period, the Secretary shall disclose to the Executive Board the names of those nominees who have confirmed their desire to be candidates. If the number of candidates exceeds three, the Executive Board will keep the names of these nominees in confidence until it has drawn up a shortlist of three candidates, taking into account the above candidate profile without geographical preferences. The shortlisting process will be implemented through indications of which candidates receive the most support among Directors, taking into account the Fund’s weighted voting system, with the objective of completing the shortlisting process within seven days following the disclosure to the Board of the candidates. Although the Executive Board may adopt a shortlist by a majority of the votes cast, the objective of the Executive Board is to adopt a shortlist by consensus. The shortlist shall be published by the Fund.

4. The Executive Board will meet with the shortlisted candidates (or all of the candidates if there were fewer than four) in Washington, D.C. Thereafter, the Executive Board will meet to discuss the strengths of the candidates and make a selection. Although the Executive Board may select a Managing Director by a majority of the votes cast, the objective of the Executive Board is to select the Managing Director by consensus with the objective of completing the selection process by end-April 2024.