Gita Gopinath To Exit IMF In August, Return To Harvard University As Economics Professor

Last Updated:July 22, 2025, 07:21 IST

Gita Gopinath will step down at the end of August to rejoin Harvard University. Her successor will be named in "due course", it was known.

First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Gita Gopinath (File photo/Reuters)

Gita Gopinath is set to leave her post as No. 2 official at the International Monetary Fund towards the end of August, Reuters quoted a statement by the IMF on Monday. She would return to join Harvard University as a professor of economics, it was known.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva will name a successor to Gopinath in “due course," the IMF said.

Gopinath, an Indian-born US citizen, joined the fund in 2019 as chief economist and became the first woman to serve in that role.

She had left Harvard.

Later, in January 2022, Gita Gopinath was promoted to first deputy managing director.

According to Reuters, Gopinath’s departure will offer Treasury a chance to recommend a successor at a time when US President Donald Trump is seeking to restructure the global economy and end longstanding US trade deficits with high tariffs on imports from nearly all countries.

Her return to Harvard also comes at a time when the University has been in the Trump administration’s crosshairs after it rejected demands to change its governance, hiring, and admissions practices.

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Vani Mehrotra

Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.

Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.

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News world Gita Gopinath To Exit IMF In August, Return To Harvard University As Economics Professor