SINGAPORE (July 8): Senior Minister and chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore Tharman Shanmugaratnam has been included in the “early shortlist” of candidates to be the next managing director of the International Monetary Fund.
The top job at the global financial institution opened up after incumbent Christine Lagarde’s nomination to become the next president of the European Central Bank, taking over from Mario Draghi.
On July 2, Lagarde issued a statement announcing her decision to temporarily relinquish her responsibilities as the managing director of IMF. David Lipton, the first deputy managing director, has been named acting managing director.
Tharman, Singapore’s former long-time deputy prime minister, has for years either overseen or personally led economic and finance portfolios. He entered politics in 2001, and was finance minister between 2007 and 2015 before relinquishing that key job to Heng Swee Keat.
Over the years, Tharman has built an international profile as an economic heavyweight and is no stranger to IMF. He was chairman of its International Monetary and Financial Committee between 2011 and 2015.
When Heng was promoted to deputy prime minister, Tharman and his co-deputy prime minister then Teo Chee Hean were redesignated as Senior Ministers.
According to the New York Times, other shortlisted candidates for the IMF role include former deputy managing director of IMF Agustin Carstens, former CEO of Pimco Mohamed El-Erian and outgoing governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney.
The list of potential candidates for the position does not end at the shortlist — other individuals have set their sights on leading IMF.
Former UK chancellor of the exchequer and current editor of London’s Evening Standard George Osborne believes that he may be best placed to win support from the US, Europe and China.
Having been the first person to back Lagarde for the same role in 2011 and providing strong support for her at the time, Osborne is likely to understand the importance of securing an early nomination for the role.
According to the Financial Times, Osborne had told friends that this was a fascinating job to have at a challenging time for international institutions.
He had also emphasised how the current climate required “a skilled political communicator and operator, not a technocrat” — which could be a veiled reference to outgoing Bank of England governor Mark Carney, who has also emerged as the favourite successor, according to an online oddsmaker.
Traditionally, the IMD managing director has been a European. Tharman’s appointment, if it materialises, will mark a significant change.
Established in 1945, IMF monitors the global economy and financial system and provides loans to countries that are struggling to meet their debt obligations. Because the fund works so closely with emerging economies, suggestions that its director should come from outside the US or Europe have been put forward.
As those countries tend to be more dependent on the fund, however, they have been content with taking the back seat — until recently.
Some countries have been pushing for a representative from emerging markets to take charge of IMF to reflect the increasing power that nations such as China and India wield in the world economy.
