Historically the IMF’s managing director has been European and the president of the World Bank has been from the United States. However, this standard is increasingly being questioned, and competition for these two posts may soon open up to include other qualified candidates from any part of the world. Executive directors, who confirm the managing director, are voted in by finance ministers from countries they represent. The first deputy managing director of the IMF, the second in command, has traditionally been (and is today) an American.
The IMF is for the most part controlled by the major Western powers, with voting rights on the executive board based on a quota derived from the relative size of a country in the global economy. Critics claim that the board rarely votes and passes issues contradicting the will of the U.S. or Europeans, which combined represent the largest bloc of shareholders in the Fund. By contrast, executive directors that represent emerging and developing countries have many times strongly defended the group of nations in their constituency. Alexandre Kafka, who represented several Latin American countries for 32 years as Executive Director (including 21 as the dean of the Board), is a prime example.
Rodrigo Rato became the ninth managing director of the IMF on June 7, 2004, and resigned his post at the end of October 2007.
EU ministers agreed on the candidacy of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Socialist Party MP and former finance minister in France, as managing director of the IMF at the Economic and Financial Affairs Council meeting in Brussels on July 10, 2007. On September 28, 2007, the International Monetary Fund’s 24 executive directors elected Mr. Strauss-Kahn as new managing director, with broad support including from the United States and the 27-nation European Union. Strauss-Kahn succeeded Spain's Rodrigo de Rato, who retired on October 31, 2007. The only other nominee was Josef Tošovský, a late candidate proposed by Russia. Strauss-Kahn said: “I am determined to pursue without delay the reforms needed for the IMF to make financial stability serve the international community, while fostering growth and employment.
In April 2011, press reports linked the former United Kingdom prime minister Gordon Brown with the role as the next managing director of the International Monetary Fund. However, these reports have received mixed reception. Ed Miliband, who succeeded Brown as the Labour Party’s leader after their general election defeat the previous year, backed Brown for the role as his handling of the global economic crisis three years earlier had been “outstanding.” However, the new Conservative prime minister David Cameron spoke of the possibility that he would block Brown from taking the position, as Brown “didn’t know” that the country was deep in debt during his leadership and that for this reason Brown might not be the best person to run the International Monetary Fund.
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