Gita Gopinath, the number two official at the International Monetary Fund, will leave her post at the end of August to return to Harvard University. The move gives the US Treasury a chance to recommend a replacement, at a time when US President Donald Trump is reshaping the global economy. Gopinath joined the IMF in 2019 as chief economist and was promoted to first deputy managing director in January 2022.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva praised Gopinath’s work, saying she “steered the Fund’s analytical and policy work with clarity, striving for the highest standards of rigorous analysis at a complex time of high uncertainty and rapidly changing global economic environment.” Georgieva added that Gopinath’s departure would be a significant loss for the IMF.
During her time at the IMF, Gopinath oversaw the fund’s multilateral surveillance and analytical work on fiscal and monetary policy, debt, and international trade. She played a key role in shaping the IMF’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the global economic shocks caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Gopinath said she was grateful for the opportunity to work at the IMF, thanking both Georgieva and the previous IMF chief, Christine Lagarde, who appointed her as chief economist. “I now return to my roots in academia, where I look forward to continuing to push the research frontier in international finance and macroeconomics to address global challenges, and to training the next generation of economists,” she said in a statement.
Gopinath’s departure will offer the US Treasury a chance to recommend a successor at a time when President Trump is seeking to restructure the global economy and end longstanding US trade deficits with high tariffs on imports from nearly all countries. The move has surprised some IMF insiders, and it remains to be seen how Gopinath’s departure will impact the IMF’s work.
The IMF has been a key player in the global economy, providing financial support and policy guidance to countries facing economic challenges. With Gopinath’s departure, the IMF will need to find a new leader who can navigate the complex and rapidly changing global economic environment.