July 05, 2007	Thursday	Jamadi-us-Sani 19, 1428

BERLIN, July 4: Europe has a name in mind to head the International Monetary Fund when Spain’s Rodrigo Rato quits, German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said on Wednesday.

Steinbrueck named no names but made it clear Europe was not planning to give up its grip on a post that Rato wants to prematurely leave in October on personal grounds.

“There is a name which many of us favour. I believe we are talking about someone who is very well suited. A European.”

Steinbrueck was asked who could replace Rato as managing director of the IMF, the more high-profile of two roles up for grabs along with the chairmanship of its steering committee, a part-time role Gordon Brown is dropping now he has moved from finance minister to prime minister of Britain.

The German minister declined to give further details.

“You cannot expect me to comment in the middle of a process in which I am involved of seeking an agreement,” Steinbrueck said at a news conference in Berlin.

The top IMF job has always gone to Europe under a deal where the United States appoints the head of the World Bank, the other Washington-based funding agency created after World War Two, though the arrangement no longer goes unquestioned.

One of the names frequently cited as a potential International Monetary Fund leader is Frenchman Jean Lemierre, head of the London-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The EBRD press office said it had no comment when contacted by Reuters.—Reuters