Gita Gopinath to leave IMF by August end: What’s behind her sudden Harvard return?

Gita Gopinath, the IMF’s second-in-command and its first female chief economist, will step down in August to return to Harvard University, the fund announced Monday.

Gopinath’s unexpected departure ends a five-year tenure at the International Monetary Fund marked by unprecedented global crises and shifting economic power plays. She will resume her role as an economics professor at Harvard, where she had taken leave to join the IMF in 2019.

Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva praised Gopinath as an “exceptional intellectual leader” who helped steer the IMF through the pandemic and the global economic fallout of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Gita steered the Fund’s analytical and policy work with clarity,” Georgieva said.

Gopinath’s decision reportedly surprised many within the IMF and appears to have been initiated by her. Her exit opens a key leadership role traditionally filled with input from the U.S. Treasury Department, which has yet to comment. The position holds particular weight as President Donald Trump continues to push aggressive trade policies and economic restructuring.

Born in India and now a U.S. citizen, Gopinath joined the IMF as chief economist and rose to first deputy managing director in 2022. Her portfolio included oversight of the Fund’s work on international trade, debt, and monetary policy.

Her departure also comes as Harvard faces renewed scrutiny from the Trump administration over governance and admissions policies.

Gopinath called her IMF stint a “once in a lifetime opportunity,” thanking both Georgieva and former Managing Director Christine Lagarde for their support. “I now return to my roots in academia,” she said, aiming to push forward research in global finance and train future economists.

Georgieva said a successor would be named “in due course.”