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June 13, 2011 at 06:15 AM
Zambian-born Stanley Fischer has thrown his hat into the International Monetary Fund (IMF) leadership ring with those of French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde and Mexico's central bank chief, Agustin Carstens.
The Israeli bank head declared his candidacy for the top spot at the IMF on Saturday, despite obstacles that include his age and his dual Israeli-American citizenship.
Reuters reported that Fischer, who has run the Bank of Israel since 2005, is older than the IMF's top age limit of 65; he is 67. The age rules also say that no one may serve past the age of 70; each term is for 5 years, and Fischer would pass that age with years to run on his term.
Fischer also holds dual citizenship, in Israel and in the U.S., which could pose other problems. His Israeli citizenship would not be popular with Arab nations, and his U.S. citizenship could disturb the precedent of an American running the World Bank while a European runs the IMF.
