The Selection of the next IMF President
Follow the Debate
The Selection of the next IMF President
CCTV Special
FOLLOW THE DEBATE
The Selection of the next MF President
XinHu News 19/5/2011
China central bank governor says IMF leadership should better reflect emerging markets
BEIJING, May 19 (Xinhua) -- China's central bank governor on Thursday said the high-level leadership structure of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should better reflect the changes in the global economic layout and emerging markets.
The G20 has decided that the leaders and high-level managers of international financial organizations should be selected through open and performance-based programs and it will help the IMF chief to lead the fund more effectively, said Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), or the central bank.
"Amid a very serious charge, Strauss-Kahn has resigned his position as the IMF chief, the IMF's effective operation is in trouble and I feel very sorry for that," Zhou said responding to a reporter's question on Strauss-Kahn's resignation.
The IMF has played a key role in fighting the global financial crisis, Zhou said.
WSJ (19/5/2011) - Asia Set for Larger Role at IMF
Regardless of where Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s successor comes from, Asia is set to take on a larger role at the IMF.
WSJ (19/5/2011) - Asian Nations Call for Local Successor at IMF
BANGKOK—Several top Asian finance officials called Thursday for an Asian or a person from an emerging economy to succeed Dominique Strauss-Kahn after he stepped down as head of the International Monetary Fund.
The Age 19/5/2011
Time for IMF to look east
In the annals of career suicide, Dominique Strauss-Kahn may warrant his own chapter.
Here are four of many worthy Asian nominees who should be considered to run the IMF.
Haruhiko Kuroda - Japan
Sri Mulyani Indrawati - Indonesia
Zeti Akhtar Aziz - Kuala Lumpur
Montek Singh Ahluwalia - India/IMF
People's Daily 20/5/2011
IMF's new chief should come from China
Who will succeed Dominique Strauss-Kahn as the next managing director of International Monetary Fund (IMF)? This is the most heated argument within international financial circles these days. John Lipsky, the IMF's No.2 official, said that he would step down after his current term expires at the end of August.
World opinion unanimously opposes the idea that an American monopoly on the senior positions of two key financial institutions, the IMF and the World Bank, and is inclined to suggest that the new chief should come from a developing country. Thus, China, with a bigger say in IMF, has the opportunity to choose a candidate for IMF's next presidency.
The Wall Street Journal - MarketWatch 20/5/2011
Geithner’s call for “open process’” in selecting new head isn’t a clear break from past, analysts say
The IMF: A prize worth fighting over
Treasury’s Geithner may be signaling European successor, analysts say
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The resignation of Dominique Strauss-Kahn as head of the International Monetary Fund has set off a global battle to succeed him between Europeans, keen on maintaining their global standing, and emerging markets that believe it’s their time for a greater say in the world’s economic affairs.
Sliding into irrelevance when Strauss-Kahn arrived in 2007, the IMF is now “a prize worth fighting over,” wrote Eswar Prasad, an economics professor at Cornell and a former IMF official, in an email.
Kaixin OpEd – Geithner’s comments interpreted: “It’s OUR Bank, hand’s off”
The Wall Street Journal - 20/5/2011
Europe and Asia Battle Over IMF Post
Emerging Economies Seek Sway, but U.S. Appears to Back Naming of European
The U.S. stood behind the International Monetary Fund's longstanding succession guidelines Thursday—averting rising calls by emerging-market officials for more sway over the IMF and boosting Europeans' efforts to name the next IMF chief.
WSJ - Asia Today VIDEO 21/5/2011
IMF Battle
The search for the next IMF leader is on, with European officials and leaders from emerging markets staking their claim.
Asia Times Online 21/5/2011
Sex, race, debt stir up IMF battle By Thalif Deen
Europeans claim the job of International Monetary Fund managing director as their political birthright, and will not let go of it easily. Their continuing debt crisis is only one pressing reason why they should no longer automatically replace Dominique Strauss-Kahn from within their own ranks.
China Daily 21/5/2011
European support rising for Lagarde's IMF bid
PARIS - France's frank, hard-working and chic finance minister, Christine Lagarde, emerged Friday as Europe's likely candidate to lead the International Monetary Fund.
The Age 23/5/2011
Europe's grip on IMF dated: Swan
THE new managing director of the International Monetary Fund should be chosen on ''merit'' and the convention of selecting only Europeans for the post was out of date, Treasurer Wayne Swan said.
The IMF should consider giving developing nations, particularly in Asia, a bigger role governing the organisation because of their increasing global importance, Mr Swan said in his weekly economic note. It echoed calls from Brazil, China and other countries for an end to Europe's 65-year lock on the top job.
Kaixin OpEd – I have not had much time for Wayne Swan in the past, but I am warming to the man ….. definitely warming to the man.
The New York Times 23/5/2011
Europeans Focus on Retaining Leadership of I.M.F.
PARIS — As the International Monetary Fund prepared to accept nominations Monday to replace Dominique Strauss-Kahn at its helm, European officials rallied over the weekend around Christine Lagarde, France’s finance minister, as their top choice for the post, despite fresh warnings from leaders of emerging markets and other countries that simply handing the job to another European could undermine the fund’s legitimacy.
China Daily 23/5/2011
Lagarde leads IMF race, competition from Mexico
PARIS/MEXICO CITY, May 22 - French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde's candidacy for IMF chief gained momentum in Europe on Sunday while Mexico put forward its own candidate, ensuring competition for the top job.
The Mexican Finance Ministry said it would nominate central bank chief Agustin Carstens, placing a prominent emerging market name into the race to lead the global lender.
The International Monetary Fund has promised a merit-based process to replace former leader Dominique Strauss-Kahn of France, who is under house arrest in New York on charges he attempted to rape a hotel maid.
Wall Street Journal - MarketWatch 23/5/2011
Time for Europe to surrender IMF reins
Commentary: Horse-trading heats up for Strauss-Kahn replacement
Insistence that Strauss-Kahn’s successor should be the French finance minister beggars belief.
The Age 24/5/2011
IMF must choose its chiefs on merit
... In these pages last week, William Pesek also suggested four highly qualified Asian candidates - Haruhiko Koroda, who has been Asian Development Bank chief since 2004; Sri Mulyani Indrawati, the highly effective Indonesian finance minister from 2005-10; Malaysian central bank governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz; and deputy head of India's Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia (who has also worked at the IMF). The Europeans and Americans need to realise that they do not run the world economy any more and that appointments should be made on merit, not nationality.
CCTV 24/5/2011
Studio discussion: What are the criteria for becoming IMF chief?
For more on the race to lead the IMF, we are now joined in the studio by our current affairs commentator, Professor Liu Bao-cheng, from the University of International Business and Economics. Thank you very much for being with us, professor.
Q1: Several European countries are promoting French Finance Minister to be the next IMF leader. But some developing countries say it's time to choose someone from outside Europe. So what exactly are the criteria for becoming IMF chief?
Q2: How will the succession issue affect the future of EU economy, especially the bailout plans for Greece and Portugal?
The Wall Street Journal 25/5/2011
Backing Lagarde at IMF? China Plays Coy
French government officials Tuesday trumpeted news that China is backing French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde as the next head of the International Monetary Fund. That would be a huge get for France, demonstrating that Ms. Lagarde has support well beyond Europe’s borders, in the world’s most important emerging market. Add that to positive comments for Ms. Lagarde coming out of Brazil and the race for IMF director looks over before it formally is set to begin on June 8.
Trouble is there’s no evidence yet that China is actually backing Ms. Lagarde.
France’s Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, (R) talks with China Central Bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan for the opening session of the G20 Finance summit at Bercy Finance Ministry in Paris, on February 19, 2011
People's Daily 25/5/2011
Emerging nations call for their IMF chief
The selection of the next head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should reflect the changing realities of the global economy and not on the basis of nationality, meaning the tradition that requires a European chief, the fund's five key emerging market economies executive directors said on Tuesday.
"The convention that the selection of the managing director is made, in practice, on the basis of nationality undermines the legitimacy of the fund," said IMF directors for China, Brazil, India, South Africa and Russia, or BRICS countries in a joint statement, rejecting that the successor to former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn should continue to be a European.
The new global economy requires "abandoning the obsolete unwritten convention that requires that the head of the IMF be necessarily from Europe," it said.
"We believe that, if the fund is to have credibility and legitimacy, its managing director should be selected after broad consultation with the membership," the IMF directors said, adding that the new IMF boss should be chosen on the basis of competence, not nationality.
XinHua News 25/5/2011
IMF chief selection should reflect new realities of world economy: BRICS
WASHINGTON, May 24 (Xinhua) -- The selection of the next head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should reflect the changing realities of the global economy and not on the basis of nationality, meaning the tradition that requires a European chief, the fund's five key emerging market economies executive directors said on Tuesday.
"The convention that the selection of the managing director is made, in practice, on the basis of nationality undermines the legitimacy of the fund," said IMF directors for China, Brazil, India, South Africa and Russia, or BRICS countries in a joint statement, rejecting that the successor to former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn should continue to be a European.
The Wall Street Journal 26/5/2011
IMF Unity Eludes Emerging Nations
MEXICO CITY—Emerging nations like Brazil and China have long complained about wanting a bigger say in how global economic affairs are conducted. But so far, developing countries have been unable to unite around one of their own as a candidate to head the International Monetary Fund.
CCTV 26/5/2011
Indian PM urges developing countries to stand united for IMF overhauls
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is urging developing countries to stand united, in order to foster reforms at the IMF, and other Bretton-Woods institutions. He adds that this process is not a "one-shot operation."
He said, "The reform of global institutions, and that includes the Bretton Woods institutions, has been high on the agenda of developing countries for a long time. But we have also to recognize that international relations, beyond a point, our power relations, and that those who wield power do not wish to yield ground very easily.
So, I am not very well-informed about what is going on with regard to the successor, to the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, but I do recognize that the struggle for the transformation of global institutions, including the Bretton Woods institutions, is not a one-shot operation. It is a long process, in which all the developing countries have to stand united."
People's Daily 26/5/2011
Commentary: New IMF head should champion reforms
The BRICS countries' call for a truly transparent, merit-based and competitive process for the selection of the new head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is essential if this agency is to fulfil its purpose.
The new head will not only have to restore the agency's reputation and morale but also oversee the IMF's transformation into a competent international financial institution that is relevant to the world today.
Following a decades-old practice, which automatically dictates a European person heads the Fund, Europe is uniting behind Christine Lagarde, the French finance minister.
But if the IMF is to swiftly adapt itself to the new realities of the global economy, it is time to abandon the unwritten convention that its head has to come from Europe.
Asia Times Online 26/5/2011
SINOGRAPH
China syndrome and Strauss-Kahn's fate
By Francesco Sisci
The fate of Dominique Strauss-Kahn (innocent until proven guilty, remember) is globally relevant. If Strauss-Kahn was put away, any belief in China that it was through conspiracy to eliminate a possible political scenario for Europe and the world would push Beijing further away from the West - and at a critical juncture when China would be deciding its strategic course for the next 10 years.
The Age 27/5/2011
IMF candidates named by mid June
The International Monetary Fund will publish the names of the candidates seeking to become the next IMF managing director by June 17, a spokeswoman said on Thursday.
XinHua News 27/5/2011
France seeks G8 support for IMF top job
DEAUVILLE, France, May 26 (Xinhua) -- France is to gather support for the country's bid to retain the top job at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) when it hosts a summit of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized nations on Thursday.
China Daily 27/5/2011
Sarkozy: G8 not a place to discuss IMF successor
DEAUVILLE, France - French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday dismissed comment on the qualification of incumbent Finance Minister Christine Lagarde to head the International Monetary Fund (IMF), saying the Group of Eight (G8) meeting is not the place to take that decision.
G8 is not intended to discuss the subject referring to a new IMF head, because it is not the G8 to determine who to lead the IMF, Sarkozy said at a press conference at the seaside resort Deauville hosting all G8 leaders.
CCTV 27/5/2011
US expected to support French candidate for IMF chief
As the race for the top job at the IMF continues, European nations are expected to support a candidate from the region, so as to continue the agency's uninterrupted support to the debt-laden region. But they face challenges from new emerging economies seeking a bigger say in the IMF. Meanwhile, the U.S. is widely expected to throw its support behind French candidate, Christine Lagarde.
Analysts say the new IMF chief is more likely to be European. That's due to two factors. The IMF has been led by Europeans since the global lender's founding, and it's become something of an established tradition. More pressingly, the lingering Eurozone debt crisis has become the IMF's most immediate priority. European countries will put their weight behind a European chief, so as to guarantee the agency's support to the region.
But new emerging economies, headed by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, are laying down the gauntlet. In a joint statement, the BRICS countries say the selection of the new IMF chief should disregard the criteria that the successful candidate must come from a European country. They're also calling for a greater representation of developing countries within the IMF.
The Wall Street Journal - MarketWatch 27/5/2011
BRICS ‘get it,’ but should they get the IMF?
You’ll forgive them for demanding a new approach
MUMBAI (MarketWatch) — If anyone has lost track of the plot surrounding the replacement of Dominique Strauss-Kahn at the helm of the International Monetary Fund, it would most likely be the BRICS countries.
They want to present their own candidate over the next few days, in hopes of ending the old-boys custom of a European as the head of the IMF and an American as second-in-command.
Besides having many qualified candidates, BRICS have compelling reasons, stemming from very recent history, to make this demand.
...
A BRICS candidate should get the job.
The Wall Street Journal 30/5/2011
Lagarde Set to Begin IMF Charm Offensive in Brazil
PARIS—French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said she will fly to Brazil Sunday night and also plans to visit the Middle East as she kicks off her global tour to rally support from the emerging world for her bid to lead the International Monetary Fund.
The New York Times 30/5/2011
At I.M.F., a Strict Ethics Code Doesn’t Apply to Top Officials
At the International Monetary Fund, there is one set of ethics guidelines for the rank-and-file staff and another for the 24 elite executive directors who oversee the powerful organization.
Caixin Online 31/5/2011
Dominique Strauss Kahn and the IMF
Of all failures that haunt the IMF, the one that looms largest comes from its institutional insularity
Those who hoped for serious reform of the International Monetary Fund have to be very disappointed by the allegations of sexual assault against its director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn. If the charges prove true, this will end Strauss-Kahn's efforts at reforming an institution that is badly in need of reform.
Most people around the world do not realize the power that the IMF has in controlling their lives.
The Wall Street Journal 1/6/2011
Mexican IMF Candidate Calls for Bailout Flexibility
LISBON—Mexico's Agustín Carstens, so far the lone challenger to Europe's renewed claim to head the International Monetary Fund, suggests more flexibility for countries on IMF support programs as he seeks backing in Europe.
The Bank of Mexico governor, the chief rival to France's Christine Lagarde, said the IMF needs someone from an emerging market with experience in handling financial crises.
Asia Times Online 1/6/2011
France BRICS up emerging economies
By M K Bhadrakumar
Russia, India and China, core members of the BRICS grouping also comprising Brazil and South Africa, have joined with Western countries that have closed ranks and staked their claim in unseemly hurry to keep the top International Monetary Fund job as their exclusive preserve, in the form of French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde. The saga has badly bruised BRICS and dented its credibility.
China takes IMF back seat
By Antoaneta Becker
Beijing appears unready to take its battle for global recognition to the high echelons of the International Monetary Fund and have its own nominee succeed former managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn. The domestic consensus seems to be that the current IMF is not the IMF that a Chinese would like to head.
The Wall Street Journal 2/6/2011
U.S. Is Tight-Lipped on IMF as Candidates Seek Votes
WASHINGTON—The U.S. is largely staying silent in the battle to pick the next chief of the International Monetary Fund—a move some former Treasury and IMF officials see as a tactic designed to let key pieces of the race fall into place without heavy-handed U.S. involvement.
Lagarde to Visit India and China
PARIS—International Monetary Fund candidate Christine Lagarde will visit China and India next week, as she continues a tour of emerging economies in her bid to become the next head of the International Monetary Fund.
The Wall Street Journal 8/6/2011
Lagarde Fails to Secure India's Backing for IMF Post
French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said Indian officials showed "appreciation" for her bid to lead the International Monetary Fund but she failed to secure India's open backing of her candidacy.
The Wall Street Journal 9/6/2011
IMF Candidate Presses Case in China
France's Lagarde Continues to Seek Support Outside Europe; Emerging Nations Hesitate to Declare
BEIJING—French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde met with top Chinese economic policymakers, but Beijing offered no immediate indication whether it is ready to back her bid to lead the International Monetary Fund.
People's Daily 9/6/2011
China says IMF race 'open' as Lagarde visits
China's Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi told visiting French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde that the race to lead the International Monetary Fund was "open".
Earlier, China's foreign ministry said the choice of a new IMF chief should be based on "openness, transparency and merit, and better represent emerging markets and better reflect changes in the world economic structure".
Lagarde is the front-runner campaigning to be the new IMF managing director. The French finance minister traveled to Beijing overnight from New Delhi, where a day of talks with Indian leaders did not yield any public endorsement of her candidacy.
XinHua News 9/6/2011
French finance minister woos China's backing for IMF bid
BEIJING, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan met here Wednesday afternoon with visiting French Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry Christine Lagarde.
Lagarde said she wanted to introduce her bid for the top job at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) during her visit to China.
"I am here not to officially ask for China's backing, but I hope to introduce my bid," she said at the beginning of the meeting, adding "China is very important for the IMF."
Lagarde said she highly values an open, transparent and merit-based process that needs to be abided by during the selection for the position.
The Wall Street Journal 10/6/2011
Lagarde Takes IMF Campaign to Twitter
PARIS—French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde on Thursday answered questions live on Facebook and Twitter as part of her bid to head the International Monetary Fund, and said her trips to India and China on the campaign trail were "extremely positive."
People's Daily 10/6/2011
No clear China backing for Lagarde in IMF
French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde had not done enough to win Chinese support for her campaign to become managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as she left Beijing today to continue a world tour of emerging countries.
China Daily 10/6/2011
Lagarde seeks China's support for top IMF job
BEIJING - France's Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, a leading candidate for the top job at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said she was "very satisfied" after meeting senior Chinese officials, even though China has not publicly declared who it will back to head the IMF
CCTV 10/6/2011
Studio interview: Is the developing world ready to lead IMF? - VIDEO
For more insight on choosing the new leader of the IMF, we're joined in the studio by our current affairs commentator, Professor Liu Baocheng, from the University of International Business and Economics.
Q1: IMF executive directors representing Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa said that the selection of the managing director on the basis of nationality undermines the legitimacy of the fund. What's your take on this argument? Is the developing world ready to lead the IMF?
Q2: What's China's attitude towards the selection of the new IMF leader?
The Wall Street Journal 11/6/2011
Why China May Prefer Lagarde
As more revelations about French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde’s recent visit to China emerge, there are reasons to believe that she may have just secured Beijing’s backing for her bid to lead the International Monetary Fund.
The People's Daily 14/6/2011
Voice of emerging markets should be heard more: IMF head candidate
Although the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is perhaps the most effective multi-national institution in the world, emerging markets should have a bigger voice in the IMF, Agustin Carstens, Mexican central bank governor, said in Washington on Monday.
The process of choosing a new IMF head at the helm should be " transparent, fair and independent of nationality", Carstens said at an event hosted by the Washington-based Peterson Institute for International Economics.
China Daily 14/6/2011
Lagarde, Carstens shortlisted for IMF race
WASHINGTON - The International Monetary Fund on Monday shortlisted French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde and Mexican central bank chief Agustin Carstens for the IMF's top job, disqualifying Bank of Israel's Stanley Fischer because of his age.
In a surprise move, the IMF board failed to support changing the IMF's rules that would have allowed 67-year-old Fischer to run, two board official told Reuters. IMF rules carry an age limit of 65 for a first-time managing director.
Caixin Online 15/6/2011
Madame Lagarde's Infatuation Monetary Fund
Another chic French leader is rising from the ashes of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, and China has been smitten
Christine Lagarde, the French finance minister and a shoo-in for the next International Monetary Fund managing director, is adored by the Chinese media even though the Beijing government is wary about publicly endorsing her for the post.
The Age
Lagarde's IMF 'conflict of interest'
MEXICO'S Agustin Carstens says his French rival to run the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, might have a conflict of interest because of Europe's high borrowing from the crisis lender.
''We'd have a situation where the borrowers dominate a creditor institution. I think that's an issue we should consider,'' Mr Carstens said of the French Finance Minister, the favourite to become managing director of the IMF.
CCTV - Dialogue - 15/6/2011
Future direction and chief of IMF
China Daily 17/6/2011
IMF hopeful woos China for votes
BEIJING - Agustin Carstens, governor of the Mexican central bank, said on Thursday that China promised to take his bid to be the first non-European managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) seriously and that the Chinese government is in the process of making a final decision.
The Wall Street Journal 27/6/2011
Carstens Gets Late Support For IMF Post
OTTAWA—Canada and Australia will endorse Mexico's central bank chief Agustín Carstens to head the International Monetary Fund, Canadian officials said Friday—a decision that is unlikely to tilt a race led by French finance minister Christine Lagarde.
The Wall Street Journal 28/6/2011
China Backs Lagarde for IMF Chief Post
LONDON—China has expressed "quite full support" for French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde in her bid to run the International Monetary Fund, People's Bank of China Gov. Zhou Xiaochuan said, furthering the already strong prospect that she will win the job.
The Wall Street Journal 29/6/2011
IMF Appoints Lagarde as Managing Director
WASHINGTON—The International Monetary Fund executive board Tuesday officially named Christine Lagarde as the next IMF director, after the French finance minister won late support from the U.S. and several major emerging-market nations.
China Daily 7/7/2011
Lagarde to give China senior IMF job
WASHINGTON - China is close to clinching a top-level post at the International Monetary Fund, IMF sources said on Wednesday after the Fund's new chief pledged to give more power to emerging economies.
They said Zhu Min, a Chinese national who was a special adviser to former IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was expected to fill a new deputy managing director post to be created by the Fund's new chief, Christine Lagarde.
"Zhu is expected to be named to deputy managing director," an IMF board member told Reuters. The appointment, which would give China one of the top five management jobs at the Fund, would first need the approval of the 24-member IMF board of member countries.
