Lagarde to announce management changes on Tuesday

New IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Monday she would announce management changes on Tuesday, in a move that is expected to give China its first senior post at the global lender.

In an interview with Washington-based news agencies, Lagarde would not elaborate on the announcement except to say it will happen on Tuesday. IMF sources told Reuters last week that Min Zhu, a Chinese national who was a special adviser to former IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was expected to fill a new deputy managing director post. The move is expected to appeal to emerging and developing market countries, which have demanded greater influence in the international financial institution to reflect their growing weight in the world economy. The IMF's No. 2 job is also set to be filled with the departure at the end of August of American John Lipsky, the fund's first deputy managing director. IMF sources have said the United States is considering naming White House adviser David Lipton for the job, keeping the post in US hands. By giving China a new post in the IMF, Lagarde would be signaling she is serious about giving emerging market economies greater say in the Fund. Lagarde said it was important that legislatures in IMF member countries approved changes to IMF voting power endorsed last year. The reforms will make China the third-largest IMF voting member after the United States and Japan. Lagarde, a former French finance minister, said Europe must also make good on an agreement last year to reduce its representation by two chairs on the 24-member executive board, a step that aims to reduce the dominance of Europe on the IMF decision-making body.