Gita Gopinath, No.2 in IMF to quit in August; Successor to be named soon

Gita Gopinath, the second-in-command at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), will step down at the end of August to return to her position at Harvard University, the IMF has announced.

The timing of Gita Gopinath’s exit has taken many within the IMF by surprise and is believed to have been prompted by her own decision, reported news agency Reuters.

Having originally left Harvard to serve at the Fund, she is now set to resume her role as professor of economics at the university.

Her departure opens a window for the U.S. Treasury to propose a successor—an opportunity that comes as US President Donald Trump pushes to reshape global trade dynamics and curb the country’s persistent trade deficits through sweeping tariffs on imports worldwide.

Gita Gopinath, the First Deputy Managing Director of the IMF visited Sri Lanka last month to discuss economic challenges and opportunities for Sri Lanka—and how the IMF can support efforts.

During her visit, she noted that with increasing tariffs, developments in the Middle East, uncertainty around energy prices, Sri Lanka has no room for policy errors.

According to Gita Gopinath, a sound fiscal policy will be very critical to make sure Sri Lanka does not return to a crisis.

Gopinath, who joined the IMF in 2019 as its first-ever female chief economist, was elevated to First Deputy Managing Director in January 2022.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva will appoint her successor “in due course,” the statement added. Gopinath had served as the first female chief economist of the Washington-based global lender for three years. Gopinath’s research has been published in many top economics journals.

Prior to her appointment as IMF Chief Economist, she was the John Zwaanstra Professor of International Studies and Economics in the economics department of Harvard University. Before joining the faculty of Harvard University in 2005, she was an assistant professor of economics at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. Gopinath, who considers herself a product of the Indian education system, she completed her schooling in Mysuru. She had her first brush with macro-economic challenges while doing her bachelor’s degree at Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi, with India experiencing its first major external financing and currency crisis in 1990-91. “This inspired me to pursue graduate work in economics and was the foundation for my interest in international finance,” she had said in an interview in 2010.

- With Agencies input