Washington, DC: Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), announced today that Ceyla Pazarbasioglu intends to retire as Director of the Strategy, Policy, and Review Department (SPR) on November 1, 2025.
"As Director of SPR since 2020, Ceyla has steered the department with agility and focus through one of its most challenging periods. She helped lead the Fund's unprecedented response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including scaling up emergency financing, negotiating the $650 billion SDR allocation, and creating the IMF's Food Shock Window," said Ms. Georgieva. "Under her leadership, the Fund delivered lending reforms to lower GRA borrowing costs, boost concessional resources, and raise access limits—crucial steps to support our members," Ms. Georgieva added.
Ms. Pazarbasioglu, a Turkish national, first joined the IMF from 1992 to 1998. During that time, she worked on a wide range of policy and country issues focusing on structural reforms. After this period, she spent five years in the private sector and served in the Turkish government. In the public sector, she helped Türkiye's government contain and resolve the 2001 economic crisis—first as a member of the government's crisis management team, then as the Vice President of the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency.
When she rejoined the Fund in 2003, Ms. Pazarbasioglu oversaw the Emerging Markets chapters of the Global Financial Stability Report and worked on financial sector policies and restructurings in several countries. She also served as Assistant Director in the European Department and Mission Chief for Ukraine before becoming Deputy Director in the Monetary and Capital Markets Department, where she helped reform and reshape the Fund's work on financial stability. In this role, Ms. Pazarbasioglu led the team that conducted the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) review of Spain, which supported the country's economic recovery through financial sector reform.
From 2015 to 2020, Ms. Pazarbasioglu worked for the World Bank, serving most recently as the Vice President for Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions, before rejoining the Fund for a third time as Director of SPR. Under Ms. Pazarbasioglu's leadership and expertise in sovereign debt issues, SPR helped launch several important initiatives to support countries dealing with debt challenges, including the Debt Service Suspension Initiative, the G-20 Common Framework for Debt Treatment, and the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable. The department also helped establish the Resilience and Sustainability Trust—the first IMF facility to provide long-term affordable financing. Ms. Pazarbasioglu also played a key role supporting the Fund's contributions to the G7 and G20, and in helping our members respond to major shifts in the global trading system.
"Under her tenure, Ceyla helped ensure the IMF delivers on its mandate and is fit for purpose. And her incredible gift of diplomacy helped keep the IMF's global engagement strong," said Ms. Georgieva. "The senior management team and I have deep appreciation for her conscientiousness, brilliance, and legacy of service to our organization and our members."
