Abebe Aemro Selassie is set to part ways with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the coming May, retiring from his post at the helm of the organization’s Africa Department and closing a 32-year career at the Fund.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva thanked Abebe for his work in a statement released yesterday, particularly as Director of the African Department.
“I am deeply grateful for Abe’s visionary leadership, dedication to the Fund’s mission, and unwavering commitments to the members in the region,” Georgieva wrote.
An Ethiopian national, Abebe studied in England, earning a graduate degree in economic history from the London School of Economics. He served as chief economist under the Office of the President of Ethiopia before he joined the IMF in 1994.
Abebe is also a former member of the Economist Intelligence Unit at the The Economist Group, UK-based publisher of The Economist.
Abebe served in several posts at the IMF, including as senior resident representative in Uganda, before being appointed head of the Africa Department in 2016 by former IMF chief and current European Central Bank President, Christine Lagarde.
As director, he oversaw IMF programs in dozens of African countries, including Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and Ethiopia.
“Abe championed tailored policy advice and capacity development for sub-Saharan Africa, deepened engagement in key countries, and helped roll out additional resources to support fragile and conflict-affected states,” reads Georgieva’s statement.
Abebe’s retirement will be effective on May 1, 2026, according to the statement.
