*http://www.interfax.com/3/292017/news.aspx
Consultations on candidates for new IMF head start with Russia - Kudrin MOSCOW. July 11 (Interfax)*- Consultations regarding candidates for the post of International Monetary Fund head have been launched with Russia, Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, who is also IMF governor for Russia, told journalists on Wednesday. According to earlier reports, the finance ministers of the EU's 27 member-countries took a coordinated decision on Tuesday to support former French finance minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn as the IMF's new chief. The elections of the fund's new head will take place following a statement of IMF Managing Director Rodrigo de Rato that he would step down in October 2007. De Rato will vacate his post after an annual meeting of the fund's members, which is scheduled to take place in September. His term in office is due to expire in May 2009. De Rato, previously Spanish economy minister, was elected IMF head in May 2004 after his predecessor, Horst Koehler, decided to run for the German presidency. tm jh [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
