The New IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva Takes Office Today

The new IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva takes office today.

Recently, she said she was "ready to be put to the test" at a time when wars in the global economy were coming up at several fronts, British Sky News and BGNES reminded.

Georgieva was previously chief executive officer of the World Bank. Now, she becomes the first IMF leader from a developing economy. Traditionally, IMF bosses are selected from economically strong countries in Western Europe such as France and Germany. Frenchwoman and now former IMF Christine Lagarde has stepped down to replace Mario Draghi as president of the European Central Bank.

Kristalina Georgieva will rule the IMF in a time of increasing protectionism in the global economy for a for a five-year term.

In her first speech after being approved as the new Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which was published on the IMF page, she stated that she is "deeply honored to have been selected as Managing Director of the IMF" and expressed her gratitude grateful for "the trust that the Fund's global membership and the Executive Board have placed" in her.

She said that the institution's "immediate priority is to help countries minimize the risk of crises and be ready to cope with downturns."

In her words, the upcoming IMF Annual Meetings will discuss warning signals about global economic growth and trade tensions.