"Let Göran Persson run IMF" - Pagrotsky
Former Swedish prime minister Göran Persson is a strong candidate to be the next head of the International Monetary Fund, according to his former colleague Leif Pagrotsky.
In a letter to the UK's Financial Times, Pagrotsky, who was a minister in Persson's Social Democrat government until September 2006, argued that his ex-boss has all the right qualities for the job.
Pagrotsky is currently the vice chairman of the Riksbank's General Council. He wrote that Persson's time as Sweden's finance minister as well as his ten years running the country is the kind of experience the IMF needs.
"As minister of finance he reconstructed a failed banking system and took his country out of a severe fiscal crisis, while still managing to be re-elected to another 10 years as prime minister," wrote Pagrotsky.
"Anyone who can beat that would be a fantastic leader for the IMF."
By tradition, the US selects the head of the World Bank, while Europe picks boss for the IMF, the bank's sister organisation.
The IMF's current head, Rodrigo Rato, announced at the end of June that he would be leaving his post in October for personal reasons.
The Nordic countries, along with Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, are represented on the IMF's 24-person board by Tuomos Saarenheimo from Finland.
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In a letter to the UK's Financial Times, Pagrotsky, who was a minister in Persson's Social Democrat government until September 2006, argued that his ex-boss has all the right qualities for the job.
Pagrotsky is currently the vice chairman of the Riksbank's General Council. He wrote that Persson's time as Sweden's finance minister as well as his ten years running the country is the kind of experience the IMF needs.
"As minister of finance he reconstructed a failed banking system and took his country out of a severe fiscal crisis, while still managing to be re-elected to another 10 years as prime minister," wrote Pagrotsky.
"Anyone who can beat that would be a fantastic leader for the IMF."
By tradition, the US selects the head of the World Bank, while Europe picks boss for the IMF, the bank's sister organisation.
The IMF's current head, Rodrigo Rato, announced at the end of June that he would be leaving his post in October for personal reasons.
The Nordic countries, along with Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, are represented on the IMF's 24-person board by Tuomos Saarenheimo from Finland.
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