IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva set for a second term

Kristalina Georgieva on Thursday passed a key hurdle to serving a second term as managing director of the International Monetary Fund, the agency announced.
The IMF said deadline for nominations for the position closed on Wednesday, adding: “One candidate, the current managing director of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, has been nominated.”
The nomination clears the path for Ms Georgieva to serve another five-year term as head of the fund, with her current term is due to expire in September.
The IMF said it would hold meetings with Ms Georgieva and executive directors, and complete the selection process by the end of this month.
Ms Georgieva, who describes herself as a “diehard optimist” and has often spoken of her admiration for economist John Maynard Keynes, has previously said she “would be honoured” to serve a second term as the IMF’s leader.
Speaking at the Centre for Global Development in Washington on Tuesday, Ms Georgieva listed challenges the IMF currently faces.
“I look at the IMF, I see for us two equally important tasks. One: make sure that we have the financial capacity to operate [and] support those that most need it,” she said.
“And for the next years, this will be vulnerable middle-income countries and low-income countries.
“Two: make sure that we bring our membership together and, despite all the difficulties in co-operation, we work towards consensus on those issues on which the future of our children and grandchildren are dependent.”
Ms Georgieva’s nomination comes after she received the European Union’s support. The IMF’s executive board makes the final decision on who its managing director will be, although the role is typically awarded to a European.
The World Bank, meanwhile, has historically been lead by an American. Indian-born US business executive Ajay Banga assumed the office of World Bank president last year.
Ms Georgieva’s nomination also comes weeks before the IMF and World Bank spring meetings in Washington, where finance ministers, central bankers and economists from around the world gather to discuss areas of global concern.
Ms Georgieva first became IMF managing director in 2019, and led the fund through the Covid-19 pandemic and the onset of the war in Ukraine.
She had previously briefly served as acting head of the World Bank.
The Bulgarian-born economist was almost forced out of the IMF in 2021 over allegations that she tampered with data during her time at the World Bank to help China. She was later cleared by the IMF and has vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen spoke to Ms Georgieva and expressed the seriousness of the issues raised by the investigation, the Treasury Department said in a 2021 readout.
Ms Yellen told Ms Georgieva that it was imperative the IMF conduct a thorough investigation to preserve the credibility of the IMF and World Bank.