Lipsky to direct IMF
- ️Mon May 16 2011
Reuters
WASHINGTON — The International Monetary Fund said Sunday its No. 2 official, John Lipsky, will step in as acting managing director of the global institution in the absence of IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who is charged with sexual assault.
IMF spokesman William Murray said Lipsky would meet with members of the IMF board on Sunday to inform them of developments. The board is the main overseer of the IMF’s daily operations.
“In line with standard IMF procedures, John Lipsky, first deputy managing director, is acting managing director while the [managing director] is not in D.C.,” Murray said in a statement.
Lipsky had said last week that he planned to step down when his term ends in August, although at Strauss-Kahn’s request he would remain as a special adviser through the Group of 20 summit of rich and developing nations scheduled for November, the Fund said.
A longtime banker, most recently at J.P. Morgan, Lipsky was appointed first deputy managing director in 2006, when a semblance of stability in the world economy had led many to question the continued need for organizations like the IMF.
The IMF now finds itself in the unprecedented position of providing aid for developed European nations like Greece, Ireland and Portugal, whose bloated budgets have made them targets for financial speculators.
Strauss-Kahn had described Lipsky as “an instigator of debate, an influential proponent of multilateralism and deeper financial surveillance, and an outstanding communicator.”
He is a graduate of Wesleyan University and has a master’s degree and a doctorate in economics from Stanford University, according to the IMF.