Kristalina Georgieva to head IMF for a second term

Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva speaks during a press conference at the European Convention Center in Luxembourg. -/European Council/dpa

Kristalina Georgieva will lead the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for another five years, the fund's headquarters in Washington announced on Saturday.

Georgieva, 70, who has been at the organization's helm since 2019, said in a statement that she was "honoured to continue to lead the IMF as managing director."

Her current term of office ends in the autumn. Georgieva, who hails from Bulgaria, was the only candidate in the selection process.

Traditionally, Europeans occupy the top post at the IMF, while the United States appoints the leadership of the World Bank.

Both organizations were set up in the last year of World War II to help establish a framework for global economic cooperation and stability after the conflict.

Georgieva is the second woman to head the IMF after her predecessor Christine Lagarde. Germany and the EU countries had supported a second term in office for Georgieva.

She previously worked for the World Bank and also the EU, responsible for humanitarian aid in Brussels from 2010 to 2014 as the vice-president of the Commission for Budget and Human Resources.

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