Dominique Strauss-Kahn Resigns as IMF Chief
May 20th, 2011
Dominique Strauss-Kahn has resigned as chief of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a statement distributed to reporters yesterday. Strauss-Kahn sent a formal letter to the Council which said:
“Ladies and Gentlemen of the Board:
It is with infinite sadness that I feel compelled today to present to the Executive Board my resignation from my post of Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund.
I think at this time first of my wife – whom I love more than anything – of my children, of my family, of my friends.
I think also of my colleagues at the Fund; together we have accomplished such great things over the last three years and more.
To all, I want to say that I deny with the greatest possible firmness, all of the allegations that have been made against me.
I want to protect this Institution, which I have served with honour and devotion, and especially – especially – I want to devote all my strength, all my time, and all my energy to proving my innocence.”
These words mark the collapse of the political career of the former IMF Managing Director, who was one of the strongest candidates thought likely to succeed Nicolas Sarkozy at the head of the Elysee in 2012.
John Lipsky, number two in the IMF, was appointed acting Managing Director of the Fund in the interim. Strauss-Kahn’s resignation opens the race to choose a successor for this position, amid calls for greater transparency in the election of a new head and has reopened the debate among the emerging nations, led by China and Brazil, who suggest a review of the unwritten rule that the Fund Chief must be a European. The Agency’s statement said “The Fund shall report in the near future on the Executive Committee’s process for selecting a new managing director”.
During the last few days, pressure was on Strauss-Kahn to resign his position following his arrest in New York. Timothy Geithner, Treasury Secretary of the United States, the main contributor to the Fund, said on Tuesday that Strauss-Kahn “is obviously not in a position to head the IMF.” Statements to the same effect were reiterated from other European and emerging countries and his resignation was demanded by some prominent political leaders from around the globe.
