IMF chief Georgieva sole candidate in reelection process

The International Monetary Fund confirmed Thursday that its current managing director is the only candidate to lead the international financial institution once her first term expires later this year.

"The period for submitting nominations for the position of the next Managing Director closed on Wednesday, April 3, 2024," the IMF said in a statement, adding: "One candidate, the current Managing Director of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, has been nominated."

The announcement makes Georgieva's return to the top job at the IMF almost certain once her term ends on September 30.

Under a controversial, decades-old agreement between Europe and the United States, the International Monetary Fund has historically been led by a European, and the World Bank by a US citizen.

This unwritten arrangement was reaffirmed last year when the Biden administration nominated Ajay Banga, an Indian-born, naturalized US citizen, to run the World Bank, which sits just across the street from the IMF in Washington.

The IMF said its executive board hopes to complete the selection process by the end of April.

Georgieva, 70, has run the IMF since 2019, and told AFP last month that she was making herself "available to serve, if people want me to serve."

During Georgieva's tenure, the IMF has helped countries facing financial difficulties during the coronavirus pandemic as well as the havoc wrought by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, especially in Europe.

Georgieva, who is a Bulgarian national, received backing from key European allies including European Union finance ministers, and Dimitar Radev, the head of Bulgaria's central bank.