WASHINGTON, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- The executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommended on Wednesday that the IMF board of governors vote to remove the age limit for its managing director.
"Since 1951, the IMF's By-Laws have prohibited the appointment of a candidate aged 65 or over as Managing Director, and have also prohibited the Managing Director from serving past his/her 70th birthday," the IMF's 24-member executive board said in a statement.
"Eliminating the age limit would bring the Managing Director's terms of appointment into line with those of members of the IMF Executive Board, which the Managing Director chairs, and those of the President of the World Bank Group, who are not subject to an age limit," the executive board said.
The IMF board of governors is scheduled to vote on the proposal from Aug. 21 to Sept. 4. A simple majority of the votes cast is required to adopt the proposal, with a minimum participation requirement of a majority of governors holding two-thirds of the total voting power, according to the IMF.
The IMF executive board has initiated the process of selecting the next managing director, after Christine Lagarde announced her resignation from the IMF top position with effect from Sept. 12.
Analysts said the removal of the age limit for the IMF's managing director could pave the way for Bulgaria's Kristalina Georgieva, the European candidate for the IMF post, to succeed Lagarde.
Georgieva, who turned 66 this month, has been chief executive officer (CEO) of the World Bank since January 2017 and is currently on a leave of absence following her nomination as a candidate for the next managing director of the IMF.
"Following consultations, I have agreed to Kristalina's request for a leave of absence for the nomination period. During this time, she will temporarily relinquish her responsibilities as CEO of the World Bank," World Bank Group President David Malpass said in a statement earlier this month.
The position of IMF chief has always been held by Europeans while the head of the World Bank has traditionally been American, an informal arrangement that has stayed in place for over seven decades.
