Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, announced her intention to appoint Zeine Zeidane as Director of the African Department, succeeding Abebe Aemro Selassie who retires on May 1, 2026.
The Mauritanian national brings over two decades of macroeconomic policymaking experience, currently serving as Deputy Director in the IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia Department where he oversees engagement with Gulf economies and helped establish the IMF Regional Office in Riyadh in 2024.
Zeidane previously worked as Deputy Director in the African Department, shaping concessional lending reforms and the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust during the pandemic. Earlier roles include leading the 2018 IMF Governance Policy and senior positions in Mauritania as Prime Minister, Central Bank Governor, and Presidential Economic Advisor.”
Zeine will bring deep institutional knowledge, sound judgment, and strong policymaking experience to the department as it continues to respond to sub-Saharan Africa’s growing demands,” Georgieva said, praising his “calm and measured approach” to complex challenges.Before joining the IMF in 2012, Zeidane worked at the World Bank and in commercial banking.
He holds a PhD in Applied Mathematics and a postgraduate degree in Macroeconomics from the University of Nice.The appointment comes as Africa’s economic priorities shift amid debt pressures, climate shocks, and geopolitical tensions, positioning Zeidane to guide the Fund’s largest regional department through a period of heightened demand for financing and policy support.
