Ilan Goldfajn (born 12 March 1966) is a Brazilian economist, former governor of the

Central Bank of Brazil The Central Bank of Brazil (, ) is Brazil's central bank, the bank is autonomous in exercising its functions, and its main objective is to achieve stability in the purchasing power of the national currency. It was established on Thursday, 31 Dece ...

and former director of the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

's Western Hemisphere Department. In December 2022, he became president of the

Inter-American Development Bank The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or IADB) is an international development finance institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States of America. It serves as one of the leading sources of development financing for the countri ...

Biography

Goldfajn was born in

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. He is

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. He graduated in economics from the

Federal University of Rio de Janeiro The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (, UFRJ) is a public university, public research university in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the largest federal university in the country and is one of the Brazilian centers of excellence in teaching and r ...

, received a master's degree from the

Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro The Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (; PUC-Rio) is a Jesuit, Catholic, pontifical university in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the joint responsibility of the Catholic Archdiocese of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro and the So ...

and a doctorate from

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

where he completed his dissertation under the advisory of Stanley Fischer and Rudi Dornbusch. He was appointed to the position of governor of the Central Bank of Brazil by

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

Henrique Meirelles on May 12, 2016. He oversaw the implementation of significant regulatory changes that opened the door to new players in the financial services industry, spurred innovation and digitalization, and fostered the growth of fintech companies, all of which bolstered Brazil’s financial sector. Goldfajn was chosen central banker of the year by

The Banker ''The Banker'' is an English-language monthly international financial affairs publication owned by '' The Financial Times'' and edited in London, United Kingdom. The magazine was first published in January 1926 through founding editor Brendan ...

magazine in 2017, and best central banker by Global Finance magazine in 2018. On September 13, 2021, he was appointed Director of the

IMF The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of la ...

's Western Hemisphere Department by Director-General

Kristalina Georgieva Kristalina Ivanova Georgieva-Kinova (; ; born 13 August 1953) is a Bulgarian economist who has served as the 12th managing director of the International Monetary Fund since 2019. She is the first person from an emerging market economy to lead ...

, to assume office on January 3, 2022. He helped countries implement IMF-supported programs to address an array of challenges and also contributed to shaping the region’s policy dialogue on climate change, which led to the IMF’s first Resilience and Sustainability Facility. On November 20, 2022, he was elected president of the

, assuming office on December 19 of the same year. Goldfajn's private-sector experience includes key positions at three of Brazil’s leading financial institutions: chief economist and partner at Itaú Unibanco, founding partner at Ciano Investimentos, and partner and economist at Gávea Investimentos. He also served as chairman of Credit Suisse Brazil’s Advisory Board. Goldfajn has also held several consultant roles at top international finance and governance institutions, including the World Bank, the United Nations and the IMF. He has taught economics at various universities in Brazil and the United States, has been an editor of several publications and has published numerous articles and books. Goldfajn speaks English, Portuguese, Spanish and Hebrew.

Bibliography

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References

, - 1966 births Brazilian economists Brazilian Jews Federal University of Rio de Janeiro alumni Living people Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni People from Haifa Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro alumni Presidents of the Central Bank of Brazil Presidents of the Inter-American Development Bank {{Brazil-economist-stub