News Brief No. 00/9

News Brief: Statement by IMF Managing Director Michel Camdessus on the Death of Manuel Guitián

February 8, 2000

The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Michel Camdessus, made the following statement on the death of Mr. Manuel Guitián:

"Manuel Guitián, who died on February 7 in Madrid at the age of 61, served the International Monetary Fund with great distinction for 29 years until his retirement in late 1998 as the Director of the Monetary and Exchange Affairs Department. Manuel made notable contributions to the work of the Fund in many areas. In the 1970s and 1980s, he was one of the main architects of the design of macroeconomic adjustment programs, and he wrote extensively on this subject. In more recent years, he played major roles in coordinating technical assistance for monetary authorities in a number of countries, notably in Asia following the Asian crisis, and in the Fund's work related to capital account liberalization. He was an early advocate of the code of good practices on transparency in monetary and financial policies. Manuel strongly held the view that the Fund was entrusted with an important and distinctive role. Drawing on his legal as well as economics background, he developed this argument with characteristic clarity and persuasiveness in "The Unique Nature of the Responsibilities of the International Monetary Fund" (1992), a pamphlet that deepened understanding of the role the IMF.

"Manuel Guitián joined the Exchange and Trade Relations Department of the IMF as an Economist in 1970, and was promoted to Division Chief there in 1977, Senior Advisor in 1981, and Deputy Director in 1984. In 1987, Manuel was appointed to a Deputy Director position in the European Department. In 1991, he was promoted to Associate Director of the Monetary and Exchange Affairs Department and in 1995, he was promoted to Director of this Department. He continued to work for the Fund after his retirement as a Special Advisor to the Managing Director.

"Manuel left a distinguished legacy of work at the Fund, but we who had the privilege to work with him here recall not only his impressive intellectual contribution and wise counsel but also his reliable collegiality and gentle friendship. He will be sorely missed," Camdessus said.