New Czech Republic's IMF representative starts work on 1 December 2004

On 1 December 2004, Mr Stanislav Polák will take up the post of Czech representative at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Mr Polák replaces Mr Jiří Jonáš, who has been working at the IMF since 1991. The mandate of the new representative and the general plan for his work has been set by the CNB Bank Board in consultation with the Czech Ministry of Finance. The Bank Board has taken this opportunity to express its appreciation of Mr Jonáš's excellent work at the IMF over the years.

Mr Polák will hold the position of Senior Adviser to IMF Executive Director Willy Kiekens, the representative of the Belgian constituency, of which the Czech Republic is a member. The term of office of the new representative is four years.

Stanislav Polák (42) held the post of Director of the CNB's External Economic Relations Division. Since joining the CNB in 1990, he has steadily acquired experience in the area of monetary policy and macroeconomic analysis. He has also worked as an adviser to the Bank Board and as Director of the Economic Modelling Division. Stanislav Polák graduated from the Faculty of Trade at the University of Economics in Prague. He has undertaken study trips at Columbia and Cornell Universities in the USA.

Note: In addition to the Czech Republic and Belgium, the Belgian constituency includes Austria, Belarus, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Slovenia and Turkey.