IMF accepting chief applications until Aug 31

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The International Monetary Fund on Thursday formally launched its appeal for candidates to replace managing director Rodrigo Rato and said it would accept applications until August 31.

"The nomination period will commence immediately and will close on August 31, 2007," the IMF said in a statement.

"In September, the Executive Board will consider the candidate(s) who have been nominated on the basis of the (listed) candidate profile, without geographical preferences."

The IMF added that "although the Executive Board may select a Managing Director by a majority of votes cast, the objective of the Executive Board is to select the Managing Director by consensus."

Rato, who has cited personal reasons for his decision, announced at the end of June that would step down from his duties in October, well ahead of the end of his mandate in 2009.

Under a long-standing and increasingly criticized gentleman's agreement, Europe chooses the head of the IMF and the United States picks the president of the World Bank, the IMF's sister institution.

The only declared candidate so far is former French finance minister and Socialist mainstay Dominique Strauss-Kahn.