The chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will leave the fund in January. Gita Gopinath, the first woman to hold this important position, then returns to Harvard University.

According to the IMF, she is going back to her old employer because the leave she received from Harvard several years ago to hold public office outside of the university is ending. Gopinath’s resignation would have nothing to do with the recent outcry about IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva.

The Bulgarian was accused several years ago, when she was still working at the World Bank, of exerting pressure to put China higher in a ranking of countries with an attractive business climate. As a result, the IMF decided to investigate the matter thoroughly, but in the end, it was decided that Georgieva could remain in her place.

Indian-born Gopinath has been the chief economist at the IMF since 2019. Due to the corona crisis, there has been a lot of media attention in recent years for the economic estimates of the fund, which Gopinath then explained.

Her predecessor was American Maurice Obstfeld, who held the position from 2015 to the end of 2018. Before that, the Frenchman Olivier Blanchard was the chief economist of the IMF for many years.