IMF Deputy Gita Gopinath Set To Depart In Opening For Trump
Gopinath is returning to Harvard University, the IMF said in a statement on Monday. She leaves more than a year shy of what is traditionally a five-year tenure for the post.
Gita Gopinath, the International Monetary Fund’s No. 2 official, is stepping down at the end of August, giving President Donald Trump an opportunity to name her replacement and put his stamp on the global crisis lender.
Gopinath is returning to Harvard University, the IMF said in a statement on Monday. She leaves more than a year shy of what is traditionally a five-year tenure for the post.
The IMF’s top deputy is usually nominated by the US and appointed by the organization’s managing director. Gopinath replaced Trump nominee Geoffrey Okamoto, who served in the role for less than two years.
Gopinath taught economics at Harvard for more than a decade before becoming the IMF’s chief economist in 2019 and then first deputy managing director in 2022. In the statement, the IMF said Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva would name a successor “in due course.”
The IMF has a global lending war chest of as much as $1 trillion available for almost 200 member countries when they face balance of payments crises.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in April called for a course correction for the IMF. There were even concerns that the US might withdraw from the organization and the World Bank. But Bessent made clear he sees a need for the Washington-based institutions.
