JERUSALEM (JTA) — Stanley Fischer, the governor of the Bank of Israel, will not be considered a candidate to lead the International Monetary Fund because of his age.
Fischer was notified Monday night that his announced candidacy for the position was disqualified since he is 67, and IMF rules state that its managing director must be under 65 when taking office for the five-year position. Fischer had hoped that the IMF board would waive the restriction, saying it is "not relevant today."
Fischer is in the second year of his second five-year term as the head of Israel’s central bank. He was seeking to fill the position vacated by Dominique Strauss-Kahn of France, who resigned following his May 14 arrest on charges of attempted rape of a maid in a New York hotel.
“I will proudly and happily continue in my role as Governor of the Bank of Israel, to deal with the challenges facing the Bank of Israel and the Israeli economy," Fischer said in a statement.
Fischer, a native of Zambia who holds Israeli citizenship, has been widely credited with helping Israel’s economy weather the global financial crisis.
He is a former deputy managing director of the IMF. Fischer 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.
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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