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IMF deputy managing director
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Political Leaders
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12/03/2020
Antoinette SayehAntoinette Sayeh, a Liberian national and World Bank “veteran,” is set to become the number two person at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as of 16 March 2020. The appointment is among the first changes that Kristalina Georgieva, IMF managing director, is making to the leadership team, making it more gender inclusive and illustrating IMF’s increasing engagement with its African members. Sayeh is a well-known political figure in Liberia. She served under president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as minister of finance from January 2006 until June 2008. Prior to that appointment, she worked in various senior positions with the World Bank Group for 17 years, including as country director for Benin, Niger and Togo. She contributed to enhancing the IMF’s engagement with its sub-Saharan African members as director of the African department between July 2008 and August 2016. Before joining the Bank, Ms. Sayeh worked in various economic advisory positions in Liberia’s ministries of finance and planning. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and a PhD in international economic relations from the Fletcher School at Tufts University in Massachusetts. Sayeh is also a visiting fellow at the Centre for Global Development.