Press Release: Terms of Appointment of Christine Lagarde as Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund
IMF News, July 5, 2011
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- Press Release: Terms of Appointment of Christine Lagarde as Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund
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Bibliographic details
- Published: July 5, 2011
Appointment and term
- Executive Board selected Ms. Lagarde on June 28, 2011, to serve as Managing Director for a period of five years commencing on July 5, 2011.
- Ms. Lagarde is the 11th Managing Director of the IMF, succeeding Mr. Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
- Letter dated June 29, 2011; acceptance signed by Christine Lagarde on June 30, 2011.
Duties and ethical standards
- Duties: Those set forth in the Articles of Agreement and supplemented by the By-Laws and Resolutions adopted by the Board of Governors and by the Rules and Regulations and decisions adopted by the Executive Board.
- Ethical expectations:
- Observe the highest standards of ethical conduct consistent with integrity, impartiality and discretion; avoid even the appearance of impropriety.
- Exclusive duty of loyalty to the Fund; avoid conflicts of interest or appearance of such a conflict.
- Participate in the ethics training program provided by the Fund’s Ethics Advisor required for all Fund staff.
- Additional rules:
- (a) Resignation from any public or private position is understood; without Executive Board approval, will not apply for or accept any public or private employment or position, paid or unpaid, or engage in any business activity.
- (b) May manage private investments and those of immediate family so long as management does not involve operation of a business or create a conflict or appearance of conflict; must provide the annual financial certification and disclosure required of senior (B-level) staff members.
- (c) Will not accept any gift, fee or favor from any government or authority external to the Fund for services rendered during tenure; will not accept any honor, decoration or award during tenure without Executive Board approval.
- (d) May be a member of a political party and contribute funds, but will not attend party meetings, assume leadership roles, or engage in partisan political activity in personal capacity.
Compensation, allowances, and travel
- Salary:
- Annual salary: $467,940 per annum, net of income taxes.
- Representation allowance:
- Allowance in the aggregate amount of $83,760 per annum, net of income taxes, payable in equal monthly installments without certification or justification.
- Reimbursement for reasonable expenses actually incurred for entertainment directly related to Fund business.
- Travel and per diem:
- Reimbursed per diem at the rate applicable to Executive Directors plus reasonable vouchered expenses not covered by per diem, including all hotel expenses, for travel in the interest of the Fund.
- Such travel expenses include travel and hotel expenses of spouse/partner attending Annual Meetings of the Board of Governors held outside Washington, D.C., and accompanying spouse/partner on official travel when in interest of the Fund.
- Adjustments:
- Both salary and representation allowance will be adjusted on July 1 of each year beginning in 2012 by the percentage increase in the Washington metropolitan-area Consumer Price Index1 for the twelve months ending the preceding May.
Retirement and survivor provisions
- Participation:
- Will participate in the Staff Retirement Plan on the same basis as staff members, with effect from the date of appointment.
- Retirement supplement:
- In addition to pension under Staff Retirement Plan, will receive an annual retirement supplement equal in amount to a percentage of the total pension payments received each year on account of participation in the Staff Retirement Plan, determined according to the length of service as indicated in Annex I.
- Retirement supplement reduced to the extent the retiree receives income from regular and continuous employment of not less than six months’ duration (see footnote 2).
- No reduction of retirement supplement after reaching 67 years of age regardless of outside employment.
- Retirement supplement payable in equal monthly installments along with monthly Staff Retirement Plan payments.
- If electing withdrawal benefit or commutation of pension, will receive retirement supplement equal in amount to the applicable percentage of such withdrawal benefit or commutation, per Annex I; other elections/options applying to Staff Retirement Plan benefits will likewise apply to the retirement supplement.
- Survivor and disability provisions:
- If predeceasing spouse/partner after leaving the Fund, Fund will pay to spouse/partner for life and to children an annual retirement supplement equal to a percentage of the pension payments and children’s benefits received under Sections 4.10 and 4.9(c) of the Staff Retirement Plan, determined by Annex I.
- In event of retirement due to disability or death during period of service, Fund will pay to surviving spouse/partner for life and children an annual supplemental retirement allowance equal to 100 percent of the pension payments and children’s benefits they receive each year under Sections 4.9 and 4.10 respectively of the Staff Retirement Plan.
Separation allowance, termination, and performance feedback
- Termination:
- Either Managing Director or the Executive Board may terminate connection with the Fund at any time; expected that resignation would be preceded by reasonable advance notice.
- Separation allowance:
- At end of term(s), or if service is terminated by the Executive Board after more than one year of service, or if resigning after having served at least two years, will be paid a separation allowance equal to a percentage of the salary paid during the last year of service, according to length of service as indicated in Annex I.
- Separation allowance reduced by amount of retirement supplement paid for the period covering the first year following separation.
- Separation allowance further reduced by the amount of any non-taxable income, and by two-thirds of any taxable income, received from regular and continuous employment of not less than six months’ duration during the year following end of service, as explained in footnote 2.
- All payments subject to necessary adjustments including recovery for overpayments at end of first year; separation allowance net of income tax in same manner as salary.
- Performance feedback:
- Will participate, on an annual basis, in a confidential and informal performance feedback process between Managing Director and Executive Directors.
Leave, travel class, and administrative arrangements
- Entitlements:
- Entitled to a reasonable vacation.
- In matters of personnel policy, including home leave, benefits equivalent to those applying to the Executive Directors shall be applicable (except as otherwise provided), without regard to transitional rules currently applying to Executive Directors.
- Travel on official Fund business and upon appointment and separation for eligible family members shall be in first class.
- Financial arrangements equivalent to those prescribed in General Administrative Order No. 22, Rev. 6 shall be available.
Disclosure and acceptance
- Upon acceptance of the understandings in the letter, the letter will be publicly disclosed by the Fund.
- Acceptance of the understandings constitutes the agreement between the Managing Director and the Fund.
Annex I — Rates applied to Supplemental Retirement Allowance(s) and Separation Allowance
- The rates per year of completed service indicated below will be applied in calculating the Supplemental Retirement Allowance(s) and Separation Allowance. Rates for partial years of service will be interpolated on a pro-rated basis.
- Years of Completed Service as Managing Director — Applicable Percentage Rate:
- 1 or less: 0%
- 2: 50%
- 3: 60%
- 4: 70%
- 5: 80%
- 6: 84%
- 7: 88%
- 8: 92%
- 9: 96%
- 10 or more: 100%
- Footnotes included in the letter:
- 1 The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Regional (Washington, Baltimore, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia) Consumer Price Index for all Urban consumers, or its equivalent replacement.
- 2 Regular and continuous employment referred to in that sentence and in paragraph 6(b) below refers to full or part-time performance of services other than on an “ad hoc” or sporadic basis; for example, services performed for a specified number of days or hours per week would be regular, whereas consultantships, directorships, lectures or similar services performed on an “as-needed” basis would not. Continuous employment of no less than six months’ duration means uninterrupted employment or series of commitments of at least six months during a reference year.
Press Release No. 11/270, July 5, 2011 — International Monetary Fund