Finding New Leaders Fund

INTERNATIONAL Monetary Fund (IMF), international financial institutions formed after World War II, was in the middle of the vortex wave of post-arrest its leaders, or called by the Managing Director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn in New York, some time ago.

Nevertheless, the decision was relatively quick resignation from office Strauss-Kahn led the international financial institutions that can quickly improve itself looking for a new leader who would be suitable to deal with various crises vortex in the coming years.

Substitution of these leaders also happened to be in conjunction with the shifting center of gravity of the economy of developed countries in the United States and Europe to the developing countries, both in Asia and Latin America. Be the turn of the new leader of the IMF program as a means of testing the influence of developing countries in various international institutions.

Institution established in the International Financial Conference at the Village Brettonwoods, the state of New Hampshire, United States, in the summer in 1944 was indeed a tradition of always led candidates from Europe. This happens because the background of that time, Europe and the United States can be said as a group of countries that have the size of the world's most powerful economy.

Measured by the number of shares in both institutions (the official term is called a quota), the United States has a stake of about 17 percent, while combined all Western European countries have a stake of about 40 %.Karena, there is a sort of unwritten agreement, the international monetary institutions are always led candidates from Europe, while his twin brother, namely the World Bank, always led by the candidate from the United States.

Exam influence of developing countries is not only happening this time. In 2000, during the term of office ends Michel Camdessus, the IMF also had experienced the situation where developing countries would nominate Stanley Fischer, the time was the First Deputy Managing Director, who represented the United States and by chance was born in Rhodesia is now called Zambia.

Although the qualification Stanley Fischer is considered highly qualified, and secretly the United States there are factors behind it, in the end the choice fell on the candidates from Europe that is Horst Kohler of Germany, which later on resigned from the leadership of the IMF to take a position as President Germany.

Meanwhile, Stanley Fischer and then accepted a position as Governor of Central Bank in Israel today. By looking at the experience, be interesting to see the current development, the time at which the influence of developing countries, especially China, India, and Brazil, is increasingly powerful in the global economic stage.

China, although the size of the economy is still less than the United States, seemed to have control over the global economy. The country is the world's largest exporter and has the largest reserves. Foreign exchange reserves at their disposal, mainly the United States Government debt instruments (treasury bills and bonds), so if China's "angry", they could make a maneuver to destabilize the U.S. economy.

And these developments are not getting receded, but became stronger. Therefore, where the "voice" China is directed into a very important thing to look at prospects for election.

Formally, a shift in influence has also begun to alter the distribution of shares in the international financial institutions (the process is officially called the 14 General Review of quotas) in which the reforms that last for six percent of the shares started to be transferred to countries with emerging market and developing a dynamic . This occurs when the IMF finally agreed on an increase in the IMF's capital as much as two-fold to about USD800 billion.

Therefore, the share of developed countries today have fallen to 60.5 percent, especially the Group of Seven countries have a stake of about 45 percent. Countries that joined in the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) experienced a very significant addition of stock, so they started to become a new force in the constellation of the global economy is reflected in the position in the IMF.

This shift can be predicted to continue over the coming year. With this background, it becomes interesting that the French finally nominate their finance ministers Christine Lagarde (who recently visited Jakarta), to replace Strauss-Kahn.

Among European countries, as if there was an agreement between their rotation, especially Britain, Germany, and France, although other Western European countries also sometimes enter the battle map. German Chancellor Angela Merkel supports the candidacy, while the British Government also supports, although at the same time their former prime minister, Gordon Brown, also has tremendous potential.

At the time became finance minister in the reign of Prime Minister Tony Blair, Gordon Brown is very active in politics at the IMF. Meanwhile, Brazil and Mexico also voiced the names of those candidates eligible to be candidates for leader of the IMF.

However, the interesting thing is the voice of the Minister of Finance of Thailand expressed by stating, former Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who is currently Managing Director of the World Bank also are considered viable candidates.

In Southeast Asia there are actually decent candidates who also occupies the position which Singapore Finance Minister Tharman Sanmugaratnam who today serves as Chairman of the IMF Committee of the International Monetary and Financial Committee. Tharman has long been poor across the central bank of Singapore (Monetary Authority of Singapore) and in the neighboring state government.

Whatever the outcome, is something interesting that for a very respectable position them.