Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has nominated Antoinette Sayeh to become her second in command.
Sayeh served as the director of the African department between 2008 and 2016 where she led a major transformation of the Fund’s relationship with its African member countries.
“Antoinette demonstrates a rare combination of institutional leadership, deep analytical capacity, and an unwavering commitment to fairness,” said Georgieva.
Since 2016 Sayeh has been a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Center for Global Development (CGD) and was also the external co-chair for the recently concluded 19th Replenishment of the World Bank Group’s International Development Association (IDA19).
As Minister of Finance in post-conflict Liberia from January 2006 through June 2008, Sayeh led the country through the clearance of its long-standing multilateral debt arrears.
Before joining President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s cabinet, she worked for the World Bank Group for 17 years, holding various senior positions.
She graduated with a bachelor’s degree with honors in economics from Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and a PhD in International Economic Relations from the Fletcher School at Tufts University in Massachusetts.
The appointment is subject to approval by IMF’s Executive Board.
