CAIRO: Dominique Strauss-Kahn, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, has nominated Nemat Shafik for the position of deputy managing director, replacing Murilo Portugal who will leave on March 4.
Strauss-Kahn said: "I am delighted to propose Nemat Shafik as the next deputy managing director to succeed Murilo Portugal. A global citizen with a global reputation in fields ranging from emerging markets, international development, the Middle East and Africa, to the financial sector, Shafik brings to the fund extensive experience in policy-making, management and academia."
Shafik, a national of Egypt, the UK and US, has served as the permanent secretary of the UK Department for International Development since March 2008. She was also vice president for private sector and infrastructure at the World Bank and was part of the senior management group of the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
Shafik stated on the DIFD website: “I am honored to have been appointed as IMF Deputy Managing Director, though also very sad to be leaving DFID.”
She headed several international consultative groups that support microfinance, energy, water and sanitation for the poor, urban development and slum upgrading, information technologies for development, and private participation in infrastructure.
Shafiq received her bachelors in economics and politics from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and a master’s in economics from the London School of Economics, followed by a doctorate in economics from Oxford University.
She was named “Woman of the Year” for Global Leadership and Global Diversity in 2009.
After the managing director selects his deputy, approval is required by the IMF’s executive board.
Meanwhile, Murilo Portugal is in the running for president of the Brazilian Banking Federation (Febraban).
