Georgieva said she has formally informed the IMF Executive Board of her decision. \u201cZeine will bring deep institutional knowledge, sound judgement and strong policymaking experience as the African Department continues to respond to sub\u2011Saharan Africa\u2019s growing demand for tailored policy advice, financing and capacity development,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Zeidane, a Mauritanian national, brings more than two decades of experience in macroeconomic policymaking and international economic cooperation. He currently serves as Deputy Director in the IMF\u2019s Middle East and Central Asia Department, where he oversees engagement with major Gulf economies and played a key role in deepening strategic partnerships, including the establishment of the IMF Regional Office in Riyadh in 2024.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He previously served as Deputy Director in the African Department, where he worked on some of the IMF\u2019s largest and most complex programmes in the region. During that time, he contributed to key reforms aimed at strengthening support for sub\u2011Saharan Africa, including changes to concessional lending policies and the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust during the COVID\u201119 pandemic.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Zeidane also served in the IMF\u2019s Strategy, Policy and Review Department, leading work on the 2018 Governance Policy and helping align country\u2011level engagement with broader institutional priorities.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Before joining the IMF in 2012, Zeidane held several senior economic leadership roles in Mauritania, including Prime Minister, Governor of the Central Bank and Economic Adviser to the President. He also worked with the World Bank and in the commercial banking sector, giving him extensive experience across public policy, financial systems and international development.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cZeine\u2019s calm and measured approach has proven especially effective in addressing complex and sensitive challenges,\u201d Georgieva said. \u201cI am confident that he will lead the African Department with purpose and commitment in serving our membership.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Zeidane holds a PhD in Applied Mathematics and a postgraduate degree in Macroeconomics from the University of Nice.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–IMF\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":30556,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[44],"class_list":["post-30749","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has announced her intention to appoint Zeine Zeidane as Director of the IMF\u2019s African Department, succeeding Abebe Aemro Selassie, who is set to retire from the Fund on May 1.","published_date":"","news_description":"International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has announced her intention to appoint Zeine Zeidane as Director of the IMF\u2019s African Department, succeeding Abebe Aemro Selassie, who is set to retire from the Fund on May 1.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/30749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/30749\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30750,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/30749\/revisions\/30750"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=30749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}