IMF Archives: Finding Aids

Office of the Managing Director Records

Context

Name of Creator: Office of the Managing Director

Administrative/Biographical history: At the inception of the International Monetary Fund at Bretton Woods in 1944, the Articles of Agreement (Article XII, Section 4a) made provision for the appointment of a Managing Director. At the first meeting of the Executive Directors, in May 1946, the Managing Director took office. At this meeting, the distinction was made between the roles of the Executive Directors and the Managing Director: Executive Directors are responsible to the countries that elected or appointed them; the Managing Director and the staff are responsible to the IMF as a whole. In 1948 the Board took a decision clarifying this division of responsibility. The Managing Director and staff are charged with studying the major problems that have to be resolved by the Executive Board, and presenting memoranda setting out the main factors which bear on these problems, together with the staff's conclusions and recommendations about them. The Managing Director and staff are responsible for the execution of IMF policies, including the handling of negotiations.

The Managing Director is the focal figure of the IMF as a whole, and internally, of the Office of the Managing Director. As both the Chairman of the Executive Board and the head of staff, the Managing Director is ultimately responsible for all aspects of the internal management of the institution and for maintaining a leadership role in coordinating financial and monetary issues at an international level. As well as reporting to the Executive Board, the Managing Director is directly responsible for relations with the Board of Governors, the Interim Committee and the Development Committee. The Managing Director is seconded by Deputy Managing Directors. Appointed by the Board for a five-year term, the Managing Director presides over meetings of the Board but has no vote.

By 1973, the Office of the Managing Director contained five divisions: the Office in Europe, the Internal Auditor, the Information Office, the Office in Geneva, and the Special Representative to the United Nations. In 1977, the Finance and Development Office was added as a division, and in 1978, the Office in Europe and the Office in Geneva were moved out of the Office of the Managing Director. By 1998, the Office had been shuffled yet again with the creation of a First Managing Director and two Deputy Managing Directors. The Offices were realigned under the Deputy Managing Directors' purview. The Office of the Managing Director also includes the Office of Budget and Planning and the Investment Office.

Managing Directors have been: Camille Gutt, Belgium (1946-1951); Ivar Rooth, Sweden (1951-1956); Per Jacobsson, Sweden (1956-1963); Pierre-Paul Schweitzer, France (1963-1973); H. Johannes Witteveen, Netherlands (1973-1978); Jacques de Larosière, France (1978-1987); Michel Camdessus, France (1987-2000); Horst Köehler, Germany (2000-2004); and Rodrigo de Rato (2004- ).

Content and structure

Scope and content: The records of the Office of the Managing Director currently consist of files created by six of the IMF's Managing Directors and have been arranged accordingly: 1) Ivar Rooth Papers; 2) Per Jacobsson Papers; 3) Pierre-Paul Schweitzer Papers; 4) H. Johannes Witteveen Papers; 5) Jacques de Larosière Papers; and, 6) Michel Camdessus Papers. The de Larosière and Camdessus records are still in progress. Records consist of correspondence; files related to speeches and meetings; information regarding travel and social events; and subject files related to organizations and events in which the Managing Director was involved. The records of the IMF's first Managing Director, Camille Gutt have been integrated into the IMF's Central Files Collection.

The Office of Managing Director also has four division sous-fonds: Office of Budget and Planning; Office of Internal Audit and Inspection, Investment Office, and Fund Office United Nations.

Notes

Note: The processing of the records of Deputy Managing Directors is in progress. Photographs have been removed to the IMF Photograph Collection.

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