On Monday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) appointed Indian-origin Gita Gopinath as its new chief economist. Her appointment is making the whole India proud. She became only the second Indian to hold this position after former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan.
Born in Mysuru in 1971, she was the youngest of two daughters of TV Gopinath and VC Vijayalakshmi.
IMF Managing Director Christine @Lagarde appoints Harvard’s Gita Gopinath as IMF Chief Economist, replacing Maury Obstfeld who will retire from IMF in December. https://t.co/M6UV5qH714 pic.twitter.com/k16ztkYIwi
— IMF (@IMFNews) October 1, 2018
She did her schooling from Kolkata, Delhi, and Mysuru. She completed her BA (Honours) in Economics from Lady Shri Ram College in Delhi University and Masters from both the University of Washington and Delhi School of Economics. She also holds a Ph.D. in economics from Princeton University.
The 46-year-old is a professor of International Studies and Economics at Harvard University and will succeed USA’s Maurice Obstfeld, who will retire at the end of this year.
In a press statement, the Managing Director of IMF, Christine Lagarde said, “Gita is one of the world’s outstanding economists, with impeccable academic credentials, a proven track record of intellectual leadership, and extensive international experience.” Adding to this she said, she is pleased to name such a talented person as their chief economist and her credentials make her exceptionally well-placed to lead their Research Department.
Gopinath was also named as one of the top 25 economists under the age of 45 by the IMF in 2014 and was chosen as the Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2011.
Prior to getting appointed as the chief economist with IMF, she was working at the National Bureau of Economic Research as a co-director of the International Finance and Macroeconomics Program. Not just that, she was also the co-editor of The American Economic Review and the current Handbook of International Economics.
Apart from that, she was appointed as the Economic Adviser to the Kerala CM in 2016 and for the Finance Ministry, she served as a member of the Eminent Persons Advisory Group on G-20 Matters.