Representative of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic at the International Monetary Fund

On 1 July 2009, Mr Marek Jakoby will take up the post of representative of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic at the International Monetary Fund (IMF).  Joint representation of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic at the IMF and the World Bank (WB) is a result of an agreement concluded in April between the Czech and Slovak governors at both institutions, aiming to help reduce the costs of the IMF and the WB.

Mr Jakoby, nominated by the Slovak Republic, replaces the Czech Republic’s current representative Stanislav Polák as Senior Adviser. Mr Polák returns to the Czech National Bank after more than four years in Washington.

According to the agreement, the Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic nominates the joint representative at the World Bank. The term of office of the representatives at the IMF and the WB is four years and both countries will swap the posts at these institutions on a regular basis.

Mr Jakoby has been working at the IMF since 2006 as Adviser to Mr Willy Kiekens, Executive Director for the Belgian constituency, of which the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic are members.

Marek Petruš, CNB Spokesman

Notes for journalists:

According to the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Japan are each represented by their own Executive Director, while other countries form constituencies on a voluntary basis, with each constituency headed by an Executive Director. The Czech Republic is a member of the constituency headed by Mr Willy Kiekens from Belgium.

The Czech Republic’s official representation at the IMF remains unchanged, with CNB Governor Zdeněk Tůma as the governor at the IMF and Deputy Finance Minister Tomáš Zídek as his alternate.

The Czech Republic’s governor at the World Bank is Finance Minister Eduard Janota and his alternate is CNB Vice-Governor Miroslav Singer.