The newly appointed Managing Director of I.M.F. is

Question

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Correct — A, Kristalina Georgieva. At the time of this exam (15 December 2019) she was the newly appointed Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, having taken office on 1 October 2019. The Bulgarian economist, who had been Chief Executive of the World Bank, succeeded Christine Lagarde, who left the Fund to become President of the European Central Bank. Present-day note for a 2026 reader: Georgieva is still the IMF's Managing Director — the Executive Board reappointed her in April 2024 for a second five-year term.

Why the other options are wrong — (b) She was the IMF's Managing Director from 2011, but she resigned in September 2019 to head the European Central Bank — so by the December 2019 exam she was the outgoing MD, not the 'newly appointed' one. This is the option the question is built to catch, because Lagarde was the more familiar name.  (c) Rajan's IMF post was Chief Economist (Economic Counsellor and Director of Research), which he held from 2003 to 2007; he later served as Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. He has never been the Fund's Managing Director.  (d) An Indian economist and columnist who has held Indian policy-advisory roles; he has never headed the International Monetary Fund.

Concept: The Managing Director is the IMF's chief executive: head of its staff, chair of the 24-member Executive Board, and the public face of the Fund. The appointment is made by the Executive Board for a five-year renewable term. By a long-standing post-war convention the IMF is headed by a European while the World Bank President is an American — which is why Georgieva (Bulgaria) followed Lagarde (France), Strauss-Kahn (France) and Rato (Spain).

State PCS 2019 Q1 — Current Affairs PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2019 Q1 — Current Affairs PYQ with Answer