Spain's deputy prime minister Nadia Calvino elected head of IMF advisory committee

Ms Calvino, who is also the country’s minister of the economy and digitalisation, will remain in office for two years

Spain's deputy prime minister Nadia Calvino has been elected chairwoman of the International Monetary and Financial Committee. EPA

Spain's deputy prime minister Nadia Calvino has been elected chairwoman of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) that advises the International Monetary Fund’s board.

Ms Calvino will replace Swedish prime minister Magdalena Andersson as the head of the committee and remain in office for two years, the IMF said on Thursday.

The IMFC, comprising finance ministers and central bank governors, is the primary advisory body of the IMF board of governors and deliberates on the policy issues facing the Washington-based lender.

Ms Calvino has been Spain’s deputy prime minister since July 2021 and the minister of the economy and digitalisation since 2018.

She has also served in senior positions at the European Commission, including as director general in charge of the EU budget from 2014 to 2018.

Ms Andersson has chaired the IMFC since January 2021 and was the first woman to hold the position. She will relinquish her duties as IMFC chair at the end of December.

The IMFC, which has 24 members, meets twice a year in the spring and at the time of the IMF/World Bank annual meetings in the autumn. Its next meeting is scheduled to be held on April 21 in Washington.

The new development comes as the world economy continues to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, despite the recent surge in the number of coronavirus infections. The global economy is forecast to grow 5.9 per cent in 2021 and 4.9 per cent next year, the IMF said in October.

Earlier this month, the IMF picked its chief economist Gita Gopinath to become the fund’s second-highest ranking official. Ms Gopinath will replace Geoffrey Okamoto as the first deputy managing director early next year.