• Since 1951, the IMF’s By-Laws had prohibited the appointment of a candidate aged 65 or over as MD and from serving past 70th birthday.
The International Monetary Fund board has removed remove the age limit for the position of IMF managing director.
Approval of the proposal required a simple majority of the votes cast, with a minimum participation requirement of a majority of Governors holding two-thirds of the total voting power. Voting ran from August 21 to September 4.
Since 1951, the IMF’s By-Laws had prohibited the appointment of a candidate aged 65 or over as MD and from serving past 70th birthday.
The amendment to the By-Laws adopted by the board of Governors, which is effective immediately, brings the managing director’s terms of appointment into line with those of members of the IMF Executive Board.
The lender is engaged in the selection of a successor to outgoing MD Christine Lagarde, who will step down on September 12.
Lagarde submitted her formal resignation in July to prepare for the nomination process to be the next president of the European Central Bank and to allow the IMF to begin finding her successor.
Nominations to the position closed yesterday. It intends to complete the selection process by October 4.