Press Release No. 11/29

Press Release No. 11/29
February 4, 2011

Dr. Youssef Boutros-Ghali, Chairman of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC), has tendered his resignation from the chairmanship of the International Monetary Fund’s policy advisory committee, effective today, February 4, 2011. Dr. Boutros-Ghali served as IMFC Chairman since October 2008. With his resignation, the IMFC will begin the process of selecting a new chairperson.

IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn issued the following statement today:

“I am grateful for Dr. Boutros-Ghali’s service to the IMF and its membership. Under his chairmanship, the IMFC played an instrumental role in providing advice and guidance to help secure policy coordination for a global recovery from the financial crisis, and to shape the future of the IMF—through the modernization of IMF surveillance, the overhaul of its lending framework, and the quota and governance reform. The IMF has gone through a significant transformation, making it stronger and better positioned to serve its universal membership.”

The 24-member IMFC, comprising finance ministers and central bank governors, is the primary advisory body of the IMF Board of Governors and deliberates on the principal policy issues facing the IMF. The IMFC meets twice a year—in the spring and at the time of the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings in the fall. The Board of Governors resolution on the IMFC stipulates that its Chair is selected by the Committee to serve for such period as the Committee determines. In line with past practice, the selection process involves consultations among IMFC members, at the level of IMF Executive Directors and in capitals, until a consensus on a new IMFC Chair is reached.

For additional information on the IMFC see: http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/groups.htm