JERUSALEM (JTA) — Stanley Fischer, the governor of the Bank of Israel, has thrown his hat into the ring to lead the International Monetary Fund.
Fischer, 67, is in the second year of his second five-year term as the head of Israel’s central bank. He announced his bid to lead the IMF over the weekend.
He is looking to fill the position vacated by Dominique Strauss-Kahn of France, who resigned after his arrest on May 14 on charges of attempted rape of a maid in a New York hotel.
Fischer is a former deputy managing director of the IMF. He also was the thesis adviser to Ben Bernanke, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, when he was pursuing his doctorate in economics from MIT.
Fischer, a native of Zambia who holds Israeli citizenship, has been widely credited with helping Israel’s economy weather the global financial crisis.
Christine Lagarde, the finance minister of France, is considered the front-runner in the IMF race. A decision is scheduled to be made by the end of the month.
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