Georgieva: second IMF term would be an honour
● IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said she would be honoured to serve a second fiveyear term at the helm of the global financial agency and had been assured there was strong support for her candidacy among European members and beyond.
Georgieva, a Bulgarian economist whose term ends on September 30, last week won the backing of French finance minister Bruno Le Maire, who said she had done a “great job” leading the institution and that France would support her for a second term.
Georgieva, 70, said in an interview that she had spoken at length with the Bulgarian central bank governor on Thursday, who asked her if she would serve if nominated. She said he cited strong support for her among European members, other advanced economies, emerging markets and low-income countries.
“My answer is, yes, if there is broad support across the membership, I will be honoured to continue to serve,” Georgieva said. “The fund is this steady ship going through choppy waters, and I would be so grateful to the membership if they elected me for a second time to be a captain on this ship.”
Georgieva, who was CEO of the World Bank before heading the IMF, and had previously served on the EU’s executive body, said she had received positive signals all around, with many lauding the fund’s swift action when needed and its work to keep members united in the most difficult circumstances.
Le Maire’s support was critical, given that European countries traditionally nominate a candidate to lead the IMF, though all EU members must agree. That decision is expected to come at a Eurogroup meeting on Tuesday. The final decision is made by the institution’s board of directors.
Georgieva, the IMF’s 12th MD since its founding in 1944, is the second woman to head the development finance institution and the first person from an emerging market economy. Keeping Georgieva on for a second term would help answer longstanding concerns raised by emerging market and developing countries over the USEuropean duopoly at the two global financial institutions, the IMF and the World Bank.
It is not unusual for someone to serve a second term. Georgieva’s predecessor, Christine Lagarde, was appointed for a second term but stepped down early to become the head of the European Central Bank.
A self-described “eternal optimist”, Georgieva has weathered huge shocks to the global economy, ranging from the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic just months after she took office to the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
She said her biggest goals for a second term would be to bolster prospects for medium-term growth, which is lagging histor
ical levels; managing the continued sovereign debt challenges; and guiding the IMF through a complicated quota revamp that boosts the process of representation.
“The way I see the years ahead, we have to be in a position of more agility in policies and the capacity of countries to withstand these more frequent shocks, keeping them together, keeping them co-operating, and yet recognising ... that geopolitics plays a big role in economics,” she said.
Georgieva drew criticism inside and outside the IMF early on for her push to include climate change as a factor in surveillance reports on member countries’ economies and her great interest in emerging market and developing economies.
She has been instrumental in securing large loans for Ukraine, helping to catalyse additional funds to help its economy weather the strains of the two-year war against Russia’s invasion, overseen a revamp of Argentina’s huge loan programme and worked steadily to help China embrace sovereign debt restructurings.
She survived a big personal challenge in 2021 when the IMF’s executive board expressed its full confidence in her after reviewing allegations that while working at the World Bank she had pressured staff to alter data to favour China. Sources familiar with the process said the selection would be settled quickly once Europe united around a candidate.
While Georgieva’s term will not end for months, some say it makes sense to make decisions before the April spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank, so the leadership issue does not overshadow the already full agenda for the meetings.