Gita Gopinath Will Be IMF First Deputy Managing Director

A leading economist at the International Monetary Fund will become the number two officials at the Washington-based organization next month. Geeta Gopinath will replace Geoffrey Okamoto as the First Deputy Managing Director (FDMD).Okamoto is after IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva. For the first time, two women will hold top leadership roles.

Georgieva describes her as a fitting candidate for this leadership role. Gopinath will start her new position as FDMD on January 21, 2022. Georgieva said that the pandemic has increased the macroeconomic challenges for all the member countries, so I believe Gita is the best choice to shoulder this responsibility as her skills make her even smarter.

Gopinath was posted as Chief Economist in 2018. She cleared in the past that she will not return to her old institution, Harvard University. She was supposed to return there in January.

She was born in India but has American citizenship as well. Prior to moving here, Gopinath was the John Zwaanstra Professor of International Studies and Economics at Harvard University's Department of Economics.

The world has also tested her intelligence during the Covid 19 pandemic. Under Gopinath’s leadership, the IMF’s Research Department had gone from “strength to strength,” particularly highlighting its contributions in multilateral surveillance via the World Economic Outlook, a new analytical approach to help countries respond to international capital flows (the integrated policy framework), and Gopinath’s recent work on a pandemic plan to end the Covid 19 crisis by setting targets to vaccinate the world at feasible cost, said the IMF’s Managing Director.

“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.