Strauss-Kahn taps “global citizen” for deputy post

IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn announced today his choice to fill one of the several deputy managing director posts. He has selected Nemat Shafik, who’s about as multinational as they come: Ms. Shafik, a national of Egypt, the U.K., and the U.S., was the youngest ever Vice President of the World Bank, where she was responsible ...

By , a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies.

IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn announced today his choice to fill one of the several deputy managing director posts. He has selected Nemat Shafik, who's about as multinational as they come:

IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn announced today his choice to fill one of the several deputy managing director posts. He has selected Nemat Shafik, who’s about as multinational as they come:

Ms. Shafik, a national of Egypt, the U.K., and the U.S., was the youngest ever Vice President of the World Bank, where she was responsible for a private sector and infrastructure portfolio of investments, and was part of the senior management team of the International Finance Corp. She is currently Permanent Secretary of the U.K. Department for International Development (DFID), leading the department responsible for managing the U.K. overseas development strategy and budget. Prior to serving the World Bank and DFID, she worked in Cairo and as a consultant on African economies.

The IMF’s executive board still has to approve the selection, although this is usually a formality since selections are informally "pre-screened." 

David Bosco is a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. He is the author of The Poseidon Project: The Struggle to Govern the World’s Oceans. Twitter: @multilateralist

More from Foreign Policy

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.

Can Russia Get Used to Being China’s Little Brother?

The power dynamic between Beijing and Moscow has switched dramatically.

Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.
Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.

Xi and Putin Have the Most Consequential Undeclared Alliance in the World

It’s become more important than Washington’s official alliances today.

Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

It’s a New Great Game. Again.

Across Central Asia, Russia’s brand is tainted by Ukraine, China’s got challenges, and Washington senses another opening.

Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.
Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.

Iraqi Kurdistan’s House of Cards Is Collapsing

The region once seemed a bright spot in the disorder unleashed by U.S. regime change. Today, things look bleak.