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EU countries are preparing to back Kristalina Georgieva for a second term as managing director of the IMF, as the economist announced her bid on Friday.
Finance ministers of EU27 countries are expected to express support for Georgieva on Tuesday at a gathering in Brussels, people familiar with the discussions said, paving the way for her formal nomination at the Spring Meetings in April in Washington.
European backing is key to obtain the post, as the head of the IMF has historically been a European, while the World Bank, its sister institution, has historically been headed by an American.
“If there is broad support across the membership, I will be honoured to continue to serve,” Georgieva told Reuters in an interview on Friday. “The fund is this steady ship going through choppy waters, and I would be so grateful to the membership if they elect me for a second time to be a captain on this ship.”
Georgieva, a Bulgarian economist, was elected to the post in 2019. Her first term in office is set to expire at the end of September.
The Bulgarian economist’s first term at the IMF has been characterised by the need for pandemic relief and support for Ukraine. From March 2020 to March 2021, the fund made $107bn available in new financing to 85 countries and debt relief services to 29 countries.
In 2023 it approved a $15.6bn aid package for Ukraine, the first time it had done so for a country at war.
Aged 70, Georgieva started her career at the World Bank and was twice EU commissioner for Bulgaria, before returning as chief executive of the World Bank from 2017 to 2019.
France has already indicated it would support Georgieva for a second term. Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said last week that she was “the right person, for the right job, at the right time”, adding that “when you have someone doing a great job, it’s always better to keep the same person at the same post”.
President of the Eurogroup Paschal Donohoe, who had been named as a possible candidate in case Georgieva did not run again, told the Financial Times: “Kristalina has done an excellent job as managing director of the IMF.”