MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Aninat steps down

Eduardo Aninat Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), will leave his position in June 2003. A successor to Mr. Aninat, who joined the IMF on December 14 1999, is expected to be named in due course by IMF Managing Director Horst Köhler, said the IMF in an official release.

Announcing his decision to leave, Mr. Aninat said, "I have informed the Managing Director that I will be resigning as Deputy Managing Director and leaving the IMF in June this year. I shall leave the Fund with deep admiration for its very dedicated staff and respect for the institution. I have had the privilege of working in the Fund during challenging years for the international community. I am very grateful to my colleagues in Management, in particular to Horst Köhler. I wish to thank them and members of the Executive Board for the support I have received in the exercise of my duties at the IMF."

In informing the IMF's Executive Board, Mr. Köhler said, "Eduardo Aninat has informed me of his desire to step down as Deputy Managing Director of the IMF at mid-June 2003. While there will later be many opportunities for us and for our membership to formally express our appreciation of Eduardo's service to the IMF and more generally to the international community, I would nonetheless like to say some personal words. Eduardo Aninat is a man of exceptional capabilities and I have greatly benefited from his advice, support and good counsel. During his stay here, he has contributed immensely to furthering the agenda of the Fund, drawing upon his vast experience of policy work, political acumen and diplomatic skills. I am indeed sorry that Eduardo will be leaving us but I understand his desire to move on to other challenges."

As Deputy Managing Director, Mr. Aninat is one of the IMF's four-member management team and has broad responsibilities in the running of the Fund, including chairing its Executive Board meetings.

Prior to taking up his position at the Fund, Mr. Aninat was Finance Minister of Chile from March 1994. He was the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the IMF and World Bank in 1995-96, and he served three years as a member of the Development Committee of the World Bank and the IMF, representing Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Uruguay, and Paraguay. In that capacity, Mr. Aninat was involved in the discussions on initiatives ranging from international policies for heavily-indebted poor countries to the proposals for reform of international financial architecture.

A Chilean national, Mr. Aninat, 55, has an M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University. He has taught Public Finance and Economic Development at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (from which he has a B.A. in economics) and was an Assistant Professor of economics at Boston University.