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  • Mount Washington Hotel, Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, United States
    Saturday Jul 1, 1944

    Bretton Woods Conference

    Mount Washington Hotel, Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, United States
    Saturday Jul 1, 1944

    The IMF was originally laid out as a part of the Bretton Woods system exchange agreement in 1944. During the Great Depression, countries sharply raised barriers to trade in an attempt to improve their failing economies. This led to the devaluation of national currencies and a decline in world trade. This breakdown in international monetary cooperation created a need for oversight. The representatives of 45 governments met at the Bretton Woods Conference in the Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, in the United States, to discuss a framework for postwar international economic cooperation and how to rebuild Europe.




  • U.S.
    Thursday Dec 27, 1945

    IMF formally came into existence

    U.S.
    Thursday Dec 27, 1945

    The IMF formally came into existence on 27 December 1945, when the first 29 countries ratified its Articles of Agreement.




  • Washington D.C., U.S.
    Monday May 6, 1946

    First Managing Director

    Washington D.C., U.S.
    Monday May 6, 1946

    Camille Gutt was a Belgian economist, politician, and industrialist. He served as the first Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 6 May 1946 to 5 May 1951.




  • Washington D.C., U.S.
    Saturday Mar 1, 1947

    IMF began its financial operations

    Washington D.C., U.S.
    Saturday Mar 1, 1947

    On 1 March 1947, the IMF began its financial operations.




  • Washington D.C., U.S.
    Thursday May 8, 1947

    The first borrower

    Washington D.C., U.S.
    Thursday May 8, 1947

    On 8 May, France became the first country to borrow from it.




  • Washington D.C., U.S.
    Friday Aug 3, 1951

    Ivar Rooth

    Washington D.C., U.S.
    Friday Aug 3, 1951

    Ivar Rooth was a Swedish lawyer and economist. He served as Governor of the Swedish National Bank from 1929 to 1948 and as the second head (Managing Director and Chairman of the Executive Board) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 1951 to 1956.




  • Washington D.C., U.S.
    1954

    Former Czechoslovakia was expelled in 1954

    Washington D.C., U.S.
    1954

    Former Czechoslovakia was expelled in 1954 for "failing to provide required data" and was readmitted in 1990, after the Velvet Revolution.


  • Washington D.C., U.S.
    Wednesday Nov 21, 1956

    Per Jacobsson

    Washington D.C., U.S.
    Wednesday Nov 21, 1956

    Per Jacobsson (5 February 1894 – 5 May 1963) was a Swedish economist, and managing director of the International Monetary Fund from 21 November 1956 until his death in 1963.


  • Washington D.C., U.S.
    Sunday Sep 1, 1963

    Pierre-Paul Schweitzer

    Washington D.C., U.S.
    Sunday Sep 1, 1963

    Pierre-Paul Schweitzer was a French businessman who was fourth managing director of International Monetary Fund (IMF) and chairman of its executive board, serving from 1963 to 1973.


  • Cuba
    1964

    Cuba left

    Cuba
    1964

    Former member Cuba (which left in 1964).


  • U.S.
    1971

    Nixon Shock

    U.S.
    1971

    The Bretton Woods exchange rate system prevailed until 1971 when the United States government suspended the convertibility of the US$ (and dollar reserves held by other governments) into gold. This is known as the Nixon Shock.


  • Washington D.C., U.S.
    Saturday Sep 1, 1973

    Johan Witteveen

    Washington D.C., U.S.
    Saturday Sep 1, 1973

    Hendrikus Johannes "Johan" Witteveen was a Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and economist. He served as Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 1 September 1973 until 18 June 1978.


  • Kingston, Jamaica
    Wednesday Jan 7, 1976

    Jamaica Accords

    Kingston, Jamaica
    Wednesday Jan 7, 1976

    The changes to the IMF articles of agreement reflecting these changes were ratified in 1976 by the Jamaica Accords.


  • Washington D.C., U.S.
    Saturday Jun 17, 1978

    Jacques de Larosière

    Washington D.C., U.S.
    Saturday Jun 17, 1978

    Jacques was the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 17 June 1978 to 15 January 1987.


  • Taiwan
    1980

    Taiwan was ejected from the IMF

    Taiwan
    1980

    Taiwan was ejected from the IMF in 1980 after losing the support of the United States President Jimmy Carter and was replaced by the People's Republic of China.


  • Poland
    1986

    Poland returned

    Poland
    1986

    Poland withdrew in 1950—allegedly pressured by the Soviet Union—but returned in 1986.


  • Washington D.C., U.S.
    Friday Jan 16, 1987

    Longest-serving Managing Director

    Washington D.C., U.S.
    Friday Jan 16, 1987

    Michel Camdessus is a French economist and administrator who was Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 16 January 1987 to 14 February 2000. To date, he is the longest-serving Managing Director of the IMF.


  • Argentina
    1998

    Argentina's package

    Argentina
    1998

    The IMF provided a major lending package to Argentina (during the 1998–2002 Argentine great depression).


  • Washington D.C., U.S.
    Monday May 1, 2000

    Horst Köhler

    Washington D.C., U.S.
    Monday May 1, 2000

    Köhler was appointed Managing Director and Chairman of the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2000.


  • Uruguay
    2002

    IMF also provided another major lending package to Uruguay

    Uruguay
    2002

    The IMF also provided another major lending package to Uruguay (after the 2002 Uruguay banking crisis).


  • Washington D.C., U.S.
    Monday Jun 7, 2004

    Rodrigo Rato

    Washington D.C., U.S.
    Monday Jun 7, 2004

    Rodrigo Rato was managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 2004 to 2007.


  • Washington D.C., U.S.
    Thursday Nov 1, 2007

    Dominique Strauss-Kahn

    Washington D.C., U.S.
    Thursday Nov 1, 2007

    On 1 November 2007, Dominique Strauss-Kahn was formally named as the new head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).


  • Greece
    May, 2010

    3:11 proportion

    Greece
    May, 2010

    In May 2010, the IMF participated, in 3:11 proportion, in the first Greek bailout that totaled €110 billion, to address the great accumulation of public debt, caused by continuing large public sector deficits. As part of the bailout, the Greek government agreed to adopt austerity measures that would reduce the deficit from 11% in 2009 to "well below 3%" in 2014.


  • United States
    Wednesday May 18, 2011

    Dominique Strauss-Kahn resigned

    United States
    Wednesday May 18, 2011

    Former managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn was arrested in connection with charges of sexually assaulting a New York hotel room attendant and resigned on 18 May. The charges were later dropped.


  • Washington D.C., U.S.
    Tuesday Jul 5, 2011

    First female Managing Director

    Washington D.C., U.S.
    Tuesday Jul 5, 2011

    Christine Madeleine Odette Lagarde was the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).


  • Greece
    Oct, 2011

    Second bailout package for Greece

    Greece
    Oct, 2011

    A second bailout package of more than €100 billion was agreed over the course of a few months from October 2011, during which time Papandreou (The Greek Prime Minister) was forced from office.


  • Washington D.C., U.S.
    Jan, 2012

    Largest borrowers

    Washington D.C., U.S.
    Jan, 2012

    As of January 2012, the largest borrowers from the IMF in order were Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Romania, and Ukraine.


  • Cyprus
    Monday Mar 25, 2013

    €10 billion international bailout of Cyprus was agreed by the Troika

    Cyprus
    Monday Mar 25, 2013

    On 25 March 2013, a €10 billion international bailout of Cyprus was agreed by the Troika, at the cost to the Cypriots of its agreement: to close the country's second-largest bank; to impose a one-time bank deposit levy on Bank of Cyprus uninsured deposits. No insured deposit of €100k or less was to be affected under the terms of a novel bail-in scheme.


  • Washington D.C., U.S.
    Monday May 20, 2013

    Discussion Paper

    Washington D.C., U.S.
    Monday May 20, 2013

    The topic of sovereign debt restructuring was taken up by the IMF in April 2013 for the first time since 2005, in a report entitled "Sovereign Debt Restructuring: Recent Developments and Implications for the Fund's Legal and Policy Framework". The paper, which was discussed by the board on 20 May, summarised the recent experiences in Greece, St Kitts, and Nevis, Belize, and Jamaica. An explanatory interview with Deputy Director Hugh Bredenkamp was published a few days later, as was a deconstruction by Matina Stevis of the Wall Street Journal.


  • Washington D.C., U.S.
    Oct, 2013

    2013 Fiscal Monitor publication

    Washington D.C., U.S.
    Oct, 2013

    In the October 2013 Fiscal Monitor publication, the IMF suggested that a capital levy capable of reducing Euro-area government debt ratios to "end-2007 levels" would require a very high tax rate of about 10%.


  • Washington D.C., U.S.
    Jan, 2014

    Fiscal Policy and Income Inequality

    Washington D.C., U.S.
    Jan, 2014

    The Fiscal Affairs Department of the IMF, headed at the time by Acting Director Sanjeev Gupta, produced a January 2014 report entitled "Fiscal Policy and Income Inequality" that stated that "Some taxes levied on wealth, especially on immovable property, are also an option for economies seeking more progressive taxation ... Property taxes are equitable and efficient, but underutilized in many economies ... There is considerable scope to exploit this tax more fully, both as a revenue source and as a redistributive instrument."


  • Ukraine
    Mar, 2014

    IMF secured an $18 billion bailout fund for the provisional government of Ukraine

    Ukraine
    Mar, 2014

    At the end of March 2014, the IMF secured an $18 billion bailout fund for the provisional government of Ukraine in the aftermath of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution.


  • Madrid, Spain
    Thursday Apr 16, 2015

    Former IMF Managing Director Rodrigo Rato was arrested

    Madrid, Spain
    Thursday Apr 16, 2015

    Former IMF Managing Director Rodrigo Rato was arrested on 16 April 2015 for alleged fraud, embezzlement, and money laundering. On 23 February 2017, the Audiencia Nacional found Rato guilty of embezzlement and sentenced him to 4 1⁄2 years' imprisonment. In September 2018, the sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court of Spain.


  • Washington D.C., U.S.
    Tuesday Oct 1, 2019

    Kristalina Georgieva

    Washington D.C., U.S.
    Tuesday Oct 1, 2019

    Kristalina Ivanova Georgieva-Kinova is a Bulgarian economist serving as chair and managing director of the International Monetary Fund since 2019.


  • England, United Kingdom
    Wednesday Mar 11, 2020

    UK called to pledge £150 billion to the IMF catastrophe relief fund

    England, United Kingdom
    Wednesday Mar 11, 2020

    On 11 March, the UK called to pledge £150 billion to the IMF catastrophe relief fund. It came to light on 27 March that "more than 80 poor and middle-income countries" had sought a bailout due to the coronavirus.


  • Washington D.C., U.S.
    Mar, 2020

    $1 trillion mobilization

    Washington D.C., U.S.
    Mar, 2020

    In March 2020, Kristalina Georgieva announced that the IMF stood ready to mobilize $1 trillion as its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.


  • Washington D.C., U.S.
    Monday Apr 13, 2020

    Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust

    Washington D.C., U.S.
    Monday Apr 13, 2020

    On 13 April 2020, the IMF said that it "would provide immediate debt relief to 25 member countries under its Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT)" programme.


  • Washington D.C., U.S.
    Friday Oct 16, 2020

    Andorra became the 190th member

    Washington D.C., U.S.
    Friday Oct 16, 2020

    Andorra became the 190th member on 16 October 2020.


  • U.S. and Worldwide
    Nov, 2020

    False estimation

    U.S. and Worldwide
    Nov, 2020

    In late 2019, the IMF estimated global growth in 2020 to reach 3.4%, but due to the coronavirus, in November 2020, it expected the global economy to shrink by 4.4%.


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