Press Release No. 06/82

Press Release No. 06/82

Ms. Anne O. Krueger, First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has informed Managing Director Rodrigo de Rato of her intention to leave the Fund at end of her term, which expires on August 31, 2006. A successor to Ms. Krueger, who joined the IMF on September 1, 2001, is expected to be named in due course by IMF Managing Director de Rato.

Announcing her intention to leave, Ms. Krueger said:

"This has been a difficult decision for me and I am leaving with very mixed feelings. I shall be sad to leave the Fund after five years, a period in which I believe we achieved much, and at a time when important reforms that will further strengthen the Fund's effectiveness are getting under way. But I strongly believe that this is the right time for me to move on.

"I have made many friends during my time here: among the members of the Executive Board, among Fund staff and, of course, my management colleagues, including Horst Köhler and then Rodrigo de Rato. And I also developed many close friendships among the country authorities with whom I have worked closely over the years. Fortunately, leaving the Fund will not mean leaving these friendships behind.

"Nor will it mean leaving behind the issues which have pre-occupied all of us: I shall retain the keen interest in Fund-related issues that preceded my time here and to which my experience over the past five years has brought a fresh perspective."

Mr. de Rato said, "I wish to express my appreciation of the work that Anne Krueger has done, my gratitude for her help to me, and my regret that she is leaving.

"Anne Krueger has contributed to the Fund in many ways. The most obvious is her strong intellectual leadership. Anne came to the Fund from Stanford, having held many distinguished academic positions, and at the Fund she has thought deeply, and has made others think deeply, on policy issues such as trade and the relations between sovereign debtors and their creditors. She also played an important role in shaping the IMF's Medium-Term Strategy.

"Anne brought to the Fund an impressive array of contacts among policymakers and academia around the world. This, together with her strong analytical mind and in-depth knowledge of country and policy issues has made her a highly effective representative of the Fund in dealing with member governments. Anne combines in a unique way her knowledge and skills as an academic economist with her experience in practical policymaking. This has given her great credibility in talking to policymakers in our member governments.

"Anne has played a pivotal role in the management team. In discussions with management and the staff we always know where Anne stands, and her clear thinking has made our work more effective. Anne has also been an able Acting Managing Director when needed, for Horst Köhler-including taking charge at the Fund on September 11, 2001 when Mr. Köhler was out of the country-and during the period before I was appointed, and also for me.

"Finally, I wish to thank Anne Krueger personally for the advice and support to me since I took on this job."

Before coming to the Fund, Ms. Krueger was the Herald L. and Caroline L. Ritch Professor in Humanities and Sciences in the Department of Economics at Stanford University. She was also the founding Director of Stanford's Center for Research on Economic Development and Policy Reform; and a Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution. Ms. Krueger had previously taught at the University of Minnesota and Duke University and, from 1982 to 1986, was the World Bank's Vice President for Economics and Research. She received her undergraduate degree from Oberlin College and her Ph.D. in economics from the University of Wisconsin.

Ms. Krueger is a Distinguished Fellow and past President of the American Economic Association, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research. A recipient of a number of economic prizes and awards, she has published extensively on policy reform in developing countries, the role of multilateral institutions in the international economy, and the political economy of trade policy. Recent books edited by Ms. Krueger include Reforming India's Economic, Financial and Fiscal Policies (2003: with Sajjid Z. Chinoy); Latin American Macroeconomic Reform: The Second Stage (2003: with Jose Antonio Gonzales, Vittorio Corbo and Aaron Tornell); Economic Policy Reform and the Indian Economy (2003); A new approach to sovereign debt restructuring (2002); Economic Policy Reform: The Second Stage (2000), and The WTO as an International Organization (2000).