- Friday, April 19, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIAN-AMERICAN Gita Gopinath, the first woman chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is set to be promoted as the financial institution’s first deputy managing director (FDMD), the IMF announced on Thursday (2).
Gopinath, who was born in Kolkata, the capital of the eastern Indian state of West Bengal in 1971 and grew up in Mysuru in the southern state of Karnataka, would replace Geoffrey Okamoto who plans to exit the IMF in early 2022.
Gopinath, who was scheduled to return to academia at Harvard University next month, has served as the IMF’s chief economist for three years.
“Both Geoffrey and Gita are tremendous colleagues — I am sad to see Geoffrey go but, at the same time, I am delighted that Gita has decided to stay and accept the new responsibility of being our FDMD,” Kristalina Georgieva, IMF’s managing director, was quoted as saying by Press Trust of India.
Georgieva also said that Gopinath’s contribution to the IMF’s work has always been exceptional, especially her “intellectual leadership in helping the global economy and the Fund to navigate the twists and turns of the worst economic crisis of our lives”.
She also said Gopinath has earned respect and admiration across member nations and the institution with a proven record in leading analytically rigorous work on various issues.
“As the pandemic continues its grip on us, the work of the Fund has never been more critical and international cooperation never more important. I am very thankful to Kristalina and the Board for this opportunity, and so look forward to collaborating closely with all the incredibly brilliant and committed colleagues at the Fund, working with whom has been an absolute privilege,” Gopinath said.
As the FDMD, Gopinath will play a leading role on surveillance and related policies, oversee research and flagship publications and help promote the highest quality standards for IMF publications, Georgieva said.
