As expected, the International Monetary Fund announced...

As expected, the International Monetary Fund announced that Michel Camdessus, head of the French central bank, had been unanimously chosen by the 151 member governments to be the fund’s new managing director.

Camdessus, 53, will take office Jan. 16 for a five-year term. He will succeed Jacques De Larosiere, another Frenchman, who is returning home.

The unanimous vote by the 22-member board of executive directors, who represent all the member countries, came a day after Camdessus narrowly beat out H. Onno Ruding, the finance minister of the Netherlands, in a poll of the directors. The poll was conducted in closed session, and the margin of Camdessus’ victory was not disclosed.

The Dutch Embassy said that a statement was made on Ruding’s behalf at the start of Thursday’s meeting withdrawing his candidacy and calling for unanimity.

Camdessus has a reputation as a discreet technician and able negotiator who has been closely involved in key international debt crises during the past decade.

The International Monetary Fund, with resources worth $106 billion, makes loans and mobilizes much additional money from commercial banks, largely to help poor countries in financial trouble.

Voting is weighted, with the United States holding the biggest vote at just over 19%. Despite that influence, the IMF’s managing director has always been a European throughout its 40-year history.