OREANDA-NEWS. June 22, 2016. Ms. Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), announced today that Deputy Managing Director Min Zhu intends to leave the Fund when his term expires in late July, 2016. Mr. Zhu was appointed to a five-year term in July 2011. Before that he served as Special Advisor to the Managing Director of the IMF from 2010 to 2011.

“Min has performed a key role in the Fund’s management team, providing immense support to me and our management colleagues,” Ms. Lagarde said. “His down-to-earth style, wonderful sense of humor, and warm personality served to reinforce his formidable intellect and passion for economics, and enabled him to provide strong leadership across a large range of issues.”

Mr. Zhu, a Chinese national, spearheaded the Fund’s work on jobs and growth in the wake of the global financial crisis, when employment issues moved into focus due to the lackluster recovery. He oversaw the Fund’s activities concerning fragile states, small states and low-income countries, and supported the expansion of its outreach and publications in this area.

In addition, Mr. Zhu has provided sound leadership in the Fund’s work on statistics, standards and codes, as well strengthening its Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) and efforts to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism. He made important contributions to the IMF’s risk management framework and helped reshape the Fund’s Annual Meetings, held jointly with the World Bank. Mr. Zhu has also brought his excellent relations with other institutions to the table, from the World Bank to the UN family, the World Economic Forum, and other international and regional organizations.

Prior to joining the Fund in 2010, Min served as Deputy Governor of the People’s Bank of China. He has worked at the World Bank and taught economics at both Johns Hopkins University and Fudan University. Mr. Zhu holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. in economics from Johns Hopkins University, an M.P.A. from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, and a B.A. in economics from Fudan University.

The process is underway to identify a candidate to succeed Mr. Zhu as Deputy Managing Director, and further announcements will follow in due course.

“I will miss Min dearly, both as a friend and a loyal and trusted advisor,” Ms. Lagarde said. “I thank him for his tireless dedication and immense contributions to the Fund, and wish him the very best in the next exciting chapter of his life.”

Biographical information: http://www.imf.org/external/np/omd/bios/zm.htm