Who is Gita Gopinath? International Monetary Fund names India-born Harvard professor as chief economist

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday, October 1, announced the appointment of India-born Gita Gopinath as its chief economist. Gopinath will succeed Maurice Obstfeld, who is set to retire as the economic counsellor and director of the organisation's research department at the end of 2018.

With this, Gopinath will become the third Indian to hold the important position of chief economist in the United States, the other two being former Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan who was also the chief economist of IMF and Kaushik Basu, the chief economist of World Bank between 2012 and 2016.

Announcing the appointment of Gopinath, IMF managing director Christine Lagarde described her as a wonderful economist, who comes with an international experience. "Gita is one of the world's outstanding economists, with impeccable academic credentials, a proven track record of intellectual leadership, and extensive international experience," Lagarde said in a statement.

"All this makes her exceptionally well-placed to lead our Research Department at this important juncture. I am delighted to name such a talented figure as our Chief Economist."

Who is Gita Gopinath?

1. Gopinath was born in India to TV Gopinath and VC Vijayalakshmi on December 8, 1971.
2. She is a citizen of the US and an Overseas Citizen of India.
3. She completed her graduation from Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of Delhi and went on to get a postgraduate degree from the , Delhi School of Economics.
4. Gopinath then pursued another Master of Arts degree at the University of Washington and went on to get a Ph.D in economics from Princeton University.
5. In 2001, she joined the University of Chicago as an assistant professor before moving to Harvard University as a tenured professor in 2010.
6. At Harvard, Gopinath is the John Zwaanstra Professor of International Studies and of Economics.
7. She is a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and also serves as a member of the economic advisory panel of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
8. Gopinath is also the Economic Adviser to the Chief Minister of Kerala.
9. In 2017, she was awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Award by the University of Washington. She was also chosen as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2011.
10.  Gopinath is married to Iqbal Dhaliwal, the executive director at the Department of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.