IMF’s No. 2 Announces His Resignation

Stanley Fischer, the second in command at the International Monetary Fund, announced his resignation after seven years of fixing myriad financial crises that earned him the nickname “battlefield medic” of the world economy. As the IMF’s first deputy managing director, Fischer was the mastermind behind a slew of multibillion-dollar rescue packages in recent years. “The decision to leave was not reached lightly and was reached with very mixed emotions,” Fischer said at a news briefing. “I knew that I had to leave at some point . . . and it was just a matter of what was an appropriate date.” Fischer, who said the Bush administration had asked him to stay on, said he will step down later this year once his replacement is found and then remain at the fund as a consultant to help his successor and write a book. IMF Managing Director Horst Koehler paid tribute to his deputy, calling the soft-spoken Fischer “superb” at his job and “an extraordinary economist and public servant.” After IMF Managing Director Michel Camdessus resigned his position last year, Fischer, 57, was among the candidates nominated to replace him. Camdessus was eventually replaced by Koehler after a succession process that was unusually long and acrimonious by IMF standards, leading to speculation that Fischer would eventually step down.