Kristalina Georgieva will lead the International Monetary Fund for a second five-year term. The IMF's executive board confirmed on Thursday that it had reappointed Kristalina Georgieva as managing director of the international financial institution.

The decision means that the Bulgarian, who was the only candidate to lead the IMF, will continue to serve when her current term ends on 30 September 2024. The decision was taken by consensus, the IMF said in a statement.

"In taking this decision, the Executive Board commended Ms Georgieva's strong and agile leadership during her tenure, which saw her navigate through a series of major global shocks. Ms Georgieva led the IMF's unprecedented response to these shocks," the IMF board said.

Georgieva said she was honoured to be elected for a second term and looked forward to continuing to work with the Fund's outstanding team.

"A self-described "eternal optimist", Kristalina Georgieva has led the IMF through a period of great turmoil in the global economy, from the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic just months after she took office to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022," comments Reuters.