IMF board to choose new chief next week

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WASHINGTON, Sept 18 (AFP): The International Monetary Fund's executive board will choose a new managing director next week to succeed Rodrigo Rato, according to people close to the situation.
This IMF board this week is interviewing Frenchman Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the European Union's candidate, and Josef Tosovsky, a former Czech prime minister and central bank chief proposed by Russia, said the sources, who requested anonymity.
The current managing director, Rodrigo Rato of Spain, is expected to step down after the IMF's annual meeting, in late October. The former Spanish finance minister announced in June his decision to end his mandate nearly two years early, citing personal reasons.
According to several people with knowledge of the situation, Tosovsky was to have a series of bilateral meetings Monday with several directors of the board that represents the 185 member nations of the Washington-based financial institution. He is to be formally interviewed Tuesday morning.