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{{Short description|Indian-American economist (born 1971)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{use Indian English|date=July 2018}}
{{Indian name|Gita|Gopinath}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Gita Gopinath
| image = Gita Gopinath 2025 (cropped).jpg
| caption = Gopinath in 2025
| office = First Deputy Managing Director of the [[International Monetary Fund]]
| president = [[Kristalina Georgieva]]
| term_start = 21 January 2022
| term_end = August 31, 2025
| predecessor = [[Geoffrey Okamoto]]
| successor = [[Dan Katz]]
| office1 = [[Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund]]
| president1 = Kristalina Georgieva
| term_start1 = 1 January 2019
| term_end1 = 21 January 2022
| predecessor1 = [[Maurice Obstfeld]]
| successor1 = [[Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas]]
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1971|12|8}}
| birth_place = [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], India
| death_date =
| death_place =
| education = {{ubl |[[Delhi University|University of Delhi]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]], [[Master of Arts|MA]]) |[[University of Washington]] ([[Master of Arts|MA]]) |[[Princeton University]] ([[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]])}}
| citizenship = United States
| spouse = Iqbal Dhaliwal
| children = 1
| relatives = [[A. K. Gopalan]] (cousin)
| awards = [[Pravasi Bharatiya Samman]]
| module = {{Infobox economist
| child = yes
| doctoral_advisor = {{ubl |[[Kenneth Rogoff]] |[[Ben Bernanke]] |[[Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas]]}}
| workplaces = {{ubl |[[University of Chicago Booth School of Business]] |[[Harvard University]]}}}}
}}
'''Gita Gopinath''' (born 8 December 1971)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theweek.in/theweek/specials/2018/10/12/gita-gopinath-from-a-middle-class-indian-girl-to-imf-chief-economist.html |title=Gita Gopinath: From a middle-class Indian girl to IMF's chief economist |work=[[The Week (Indian magazine)|The Week]] |author=Prathima Nandakumar |date=15 October 2018 |accessdate=21 January 2020 |archive-date=17 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217075037/https://www.theweek.in/theweek/specials/2018/10/12/gita-gopinath-from-a-middle-class-indian-girl-to-imf-chief-economist.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> is an Indian-American [[economist]] who is currently serving as the Gregory and Ania Coffey professor of Economics at [[Harvard University]]<ref>{{Cite web |date= 21 July 2025 |title= First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath to Leave the IMF to Rejoin the Harvard Economics Faculty|url= https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2025/07/21/pr25257-1st-deputy-md-gita-gopinath-to-leave-the-imf-to-rejoin-harvard-econ-faculty |access-date= 17 October 2025|website= [[International Monetary Fund]]|language=en}}</ref> and previously served as the first deputy managing director of the [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF), from 21 January 2022 to 31 August 2025. Before that she also served as [[Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund|chief economist]] of the IMF between 2019 and 2022.

Prior to joining the IMF, Gopinath had a two-decade-long career as an academic including at the economics department of Harvard University, where she was the John Zwaanstra Professor of International Studies and Economics (2005–2022), and earlier an assistant professor at the [[University of Chicago Booth School of Business]] (2001–05). She is also a co-director of the [[international finance]] and [[macroeconomics]] program at the [[National Bureau of Economic Research]] and has earlier worked as the honorary economic adviser to the [[chief minister of Kerala]].

Gita Gopinath was appointed as chief economist of the IMF in October 2018 by its managing director [[Christine Lagarde]]. In an interview with [[Trevor Noah]] on ''[[The Daily Show]]'', she named the [[COVID-19 recession|worldwide recession of 2020]] as "the Great Lockdown". In December 2021, IMF managing director [[Kristalina Georgieva]] appointed her the first deputy managing director of the IMF, which is the organization's second-in-command position. Gopinath will leave the IMF by the end of August 2025 to rejoin Harvard as the inaugural Gregory and Ania Coffey Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2025/07/21/pr25257-1st-deputy-md-gita-gopinath-to-leave-the-imf-to-rejoin-harvard-econ-faculty|title=First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath to Leave the IMF to Rejoin the Harvard Economics Faculty| publisher=IMF|website=imf.org|date=21 July 2025|accessdate=22 July 2025}}</ref>

== Early life and education ==
Gita Gopinath was born on 8 December 1971, in [[Kolkata]], [[India]] in a [[Malayali]] [[Hindus|Hindu Nair ]] family from [[Kannur district|Kannur]], [[Kerala]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jagrantv.com/en-show/gita-gopinath-biography-age-early-life-career-married-life-her-achievements-and-awards-net-worth-imf-chief-economist-rc1025713 |title=Gita Gopinath Biography: Everything You Need To Know About The New IMF Chief Economist |publisher=Jagran |date= December 6, 2021 |accessdate=19 December 2021}}</ref><ref name="IToday">{{cite web |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/10-things-to-know-about-harvard-economist-gita-gopinath-the-new-imf-chief-economist-1353666-2018-10-01 |title=10 things to know about Gita Gopinath, the new IMF chief economist |work=[[India Today]] |date=1 October 2018 |access-date=3 October 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theweek.in/theweek/specials/2018/10/12/gita-gopinath-from-a-middle-class-indian-girl-to-imf-chief-economist.html|title=Gita Gopinath: From a middle-class Indian girl to IMF's chief economist|last=Nandakumar|first=Prathima|date=15 October 2018|website=The Week|access-date=24 December 2019|archive-date=17 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217075037/https://www.theweek.in/theweek/specials/2018/10/12/gita-gopinath-from-a-middle-class-indian-girl-to-imf-chief-economist.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> She is the younger of two daughters of T.V. Gopinath and V.C. Vijayalakshmi.<ref name="Mysore">{{cite web | url=https://www.deccanherald.com/state/mysuru-elated-gita-gopinath-695730.html | title=Mysuru elated as Gita Gopinath is IMF's chief economist | work=[[Deccan Herald]] | author=TR Sathish Kumar | date=2 October 2018 | access-date=3 October 2018 | archive-date=2 October 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181002214935/https://www.deccanherald.com/state/mysuru-elated-gita-gopinath-695730.html | url-status=dead }}</ref> Her family is related to the late [[A. K. Gopalan]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.news18.com/news/india/good-enough-for-imf-but-gita-gopinaths-appointment-as-kerala-adviser-left-many-in-govt-unimpressed-1895163.html|title=Good Enough for IMF Top Post, Gita Gopinath's Appointment as Kerala Adviser Had Left Many Unimpressed|website=News18|date=October 2018}}</ref>

Gita Gopinath studied at Nirmala Convent School in [[Mysore]].<ref name="IToday"/><ref>{{cite web | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mysuru/gita-hardworking-and-focused-proud-father/articleshow/66038008.cms | title=Gita hardworking and focused: Proud father | work=[[The Times of India]] | author=Lawrence Milton | date=2 October 2018 | access-date=3 October 2018}}</ref> She received a [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] degree from [[Lady Shri Ram College for Women]] of the [[University of Delhi]] in 1992 and an [[Master of Arts|M.A.]] degree in economics from [[Delhi School of Economics]], also of the [[University of Delhi]], in 1994. She further completed an [[Master of Arts|M.A.]] degree at the [[University of Washington]] in 1996. She earned her [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]] in economics from [[Princeton University]] in 2001 after completing a doctoral dissertation titled "Three essays on international capital flows: a search theoretic approach", under the supervision of [[Ben Bernanke]], [[Kenneth Rogoff]], and [[Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gopinath|first=Gita|url=https://catalog.princeton.edu/catalog/3399606|title=Three essays on international capital flows: a search theoretic approach|date=2001}}</ref> She was awarded the Princeton's Woodrow Wilson Fellowship Research Award while doing her doctoral research at Princeton.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/gopinath/files/cv_gopinath_2018-04.pdf|title=Curriculum Vitae|last=Gopinath|first=Gita|date=April 2018|website=Harvard University|access-date=29 December 2019}}</ref>

== Career ==
[[File:1st Minister meets with International Monetary Fund’s First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath.jpg|thumb|right|Gopinath meets with [[First Minister of Scotland]] [[Humza Yousaf]] in June 2023.]]

In 2001, she joined the [[University of Chicago Booth School of Business]] as an assistant professor.<ref>{{Cite news|title=WHO IS GITA GOPINATH|work=Business Standard India|url=https://www.business-standard.com/about/who-is-gita-gopinath|access-date=24 December 2020}}</ref> In 2005 she moved to [[Harvard University]]'s economics department, where she served as the John Zwanstra Professor of International Studies and Economics through 2022.<ref name="imf.org">{{Cite web|title=Gita Gopinath - Biographical Information|url=https://www.imf.org/en/About/senior-officials/Bios/gita-gopinath|access-date=19 January 2022|website=IMF}}</ref> In Harvard she co-authored papers such as ''The Macroeconomics of Border Taxes'' and ''Dominant Currency Paradigm''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Publications {{!}} Gita Gopinath |url=https://scholar.harvard.edu/gopinath/publications |access-date=2024-11-20 |website=scholar.harvard.edu |language=en}}</ref>

In October 2018, Gopinath was appointed [[Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund|chief economist]] of the [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF).<ref name="htorg">{{cite news |title=Harvard Economist Gita Gopinath Appointed Chief Economist At International Monetary Fund |url=https://headlinestoday.org/international/3314/harvard-economist-gita-gopinath-appointed-chief-economist-at-international-monetary-fund/ |access-date=2 October 2018 |agency=Headlines Today |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181002235109/https://headlinestoday.org/international/3314/harvard-economist-gita-gopinath-appointed-chief-economist-at-international-monetary-fund/ |archive-date=2 October 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> As part of her initiatives, she co-authored the "Pandemic Paper", an international plan on how to end the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] that set globally endorsed targets for [[Vaccination policy|vaccinating the world]]. This work led to the creation of the Multilateral Task Force made up of the leadership of the IMF itself, [[World Bank]], [[World Health Organization]] (WHO), and [[World Trade Organization]] (WTO) to help end the pandemic and the establishment of a working group with vaccine manufacturers to identify trade barriers, supply bottlenecks, and accelerate the delivery of [[COVID-19 vaccine]]s to [[Developing country|low-income and lower-middle income countries]] (''see also'': [[Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic]]).

In December 2021, Gopinath was elevated as the fund's new first deputy managing director (FDMD), the number two position at the fund. Gopinath had been earlier scheduled to return to her academic position at Harvard University in January 2022 on completion of her term as chief economist.<ref>{{Cite web|title=IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath to Return to Harvard University|url=https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2021/10/19/pr21302-imf-chief-economist-gita-gopinath-to-return-to-harvard-university|access-date=19 January 2022|website=IMF}}</ref> [[Kristalina Georgieva]] added that "given that the pandemic has led to an increase in the scale and scope of the macroeconomic challenges facing our member countries, Gita—universally recognized as one of the world's leading macroeconomists—has precisely the expertise that we need for the FDMD role at this point. Indeed, her particular skill set—combined with her years of experience at the Fund as Chief Economist—make her uniquely well qualified. She is the right person at the right time."<ref>{{Cite web|title=First Deputy Managing Director Geoffrey Okamoto to Leave IMF, Gita Gopinath to Be IMF's New First Deputy Managing Director|url=https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2021/12/02/pr21354-fdmd-okamoto-to-leave-imf-gita-gopinath-to-be-imfs-new-fdmd|access-date=19 January 2022|website=IMF}}</ref>

As the first deputy managing director of the IMF, Gopinath represents the fund at multilateral forums, maintains high-level contacts with member governments and board members, the media, and other institutions, leads the fund's work on surveillance and related policies, oversees research, and flagship publications and the work of senior staff.<ref>{{Cite web|last=IMFBlog|title=Gita Gopinath|url=https://blogs.imf.org/bloggers/gita-gopinath/|access-date=24 January 2022|website=IMF Blog}}</ref> Gopinath was earlier the co-director of the [[international finance]] and [[macroeconomics]] program at the [[National Bureau of Economic Research]], a visiting scholar at the [[Federal Reserve Bank of Boston]], a member of the economic advisory panel of the [[Federal Reserve Bank of New York]], economic adviser to the [[chief minister of Kerala]], a co-editor at the ''[[American Economic Review]]'', and a co-editor of the 2019 edition of the ''Handbook of International Economics''.<ref>[https://www.amazon.com/Handbook-International-Economics-Gita-Gopinath-ebook/dp/B00IWNN2E8/ref=sr_1_1?gclid=Cj0KCQjw6KrtBRDLARIsAKzvQIHbtq4b_uu2Rdf3UA_Tcojx2LuCfHr15Vp7KVTRtGJv-yqdiSIFxLQaAl1nEALw_wcB&hvadid=241655012779&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=1015166&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=2966716821645697801&hvtargid=kwd-910763792&keywords=handbook+of+international+economics&qid=1571475157&sr=8-1 Handbook of International Economics 1st Edition, Kindle Edition], Amazon.com</ref>

In June 2021, Gopinath was appointed to the [[World Bank]]–[[International Monetary Fund]] High-Level Advisory Group (HLAG) on Sustainable and Inclusive Recovery and Growth, co-chaired by [[Mari Pangestu]], [[Ceyla Pazarbasioglu]], and [[Nicholas Stern]].<ref>[https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2021/06/14/pr21175-world-bank-imf-launch-hlag-sustainable-inclusive-recovery-growth World Bank, IMF Launch High-Level Advisory Group on Sustainable and Inclusive Recovery and Growth] [[International Monetary Fund]], press release of 15 June 2021.</ref>

== Honours ==
Gopinath was named one of the top 25 economists under 45 by the [[International Monetary Fund]] in 2014 and was chosen as a [[Young Global Leaders|Young Global Leader]] by the [[World Economic Forum]] in 2011. In November 2016, she received the 2017 Distinguished Alumna at the [[University of Washington]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Johns |first1=Nicole |date=2 November 2016 |title=Harvard Professor Gita Gopinath, MA '96, Selected 2017 Distinguished Alumna |url=https://econ.washington.edu/news/2016/11/02/harvard-professor-gita-gopinath-ma-96-selected-2017-distinguished-alumna |website=University of Washington |language=en-US |access-date=23 February 2024}}</ref> In April 2018, Gopinath was elected a fellow of the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] at [[Harvard University]] and the [[Econometric Society]] in November.<ref>{{cite web |title=Congratulations to Professor Gita Gopinath on Her Election to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences |url=https://economics.harvard.edu/news/congratulations-professor-gita-gopinath-her-election-american-academy-arts-sciences |website=Harvard University |language=en-US |date=19 April 2018 |access-date=23 February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Congratulations to Professor Gita Gopinath on Her Election as a Fellow of the Econometric Society |url=https://economics.harvard.edu/news/congratulations-professor-gita-gopinath-her-election-fellow-econometric-society |website=Harvard University |language=en-US |date=8 November 2018 |access-date=23 February 2024}}</ref> ''[[Foreign Policy]]'' named her one of the Top Global Thinkers in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Foreign Policy's 100 Global Thinkers |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2019-global-thinkers/ |website=Foreign Policy |language=en-US |access-date=26 January 2021}}</ref> In 2019, she was awarded the [[Pravasi Bharatiya Samman]] by the [[President of India]] [[Ram Nath Kovind]].<ref name="imf.org"/>

In 2021, the ''[[Financial Times]]'' named Gopinath among the "25 most influential women of the year", the [[International Economic Association]] named her the Schumpeter-Haberler Distinguished Fellow, the [[Agricultural & Applied Economics Association]] recognized her with the John Kenneth Galbraith Award, and the [[Carnegie Corporation]] named her among "Great (American) Immigrants". She was named among the [[Bloomberg L.P.|Bloomberg]] "50 people who defined 2019" and among the "Women who Broke Major Barriers to Become Firsts" by ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine.<ref name="imf.org"/> In 2021 Gopinath was selected by the [[Carnegie Corporation of New York|Carnegie Corporation]] as a "[[Great Immigrants Award|Great Immigrant, Great American]]".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gita Gopinath |url=https://www.carnegie.org/awards/honoree/gita-gopinath/ |access-date=June 10, 2024 |website=Carnegie Corporation of New York}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Gita Gopinath's journey from Mysuru to becoming America's 'Great Immigrant' |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/gita-gopinaths-journey-from-mysuru-to-becoming-americas-great-immigrant/articleshow/84114947.cms |access-date=2024-06-20 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
Gopinath is a [[United States nationality law|naturalized American citizen]] and an [[Overseas Citizenship of India|overseas citizen of India]].<ref name="imf">{{cite web | url=https://www.imf.org/en/About/senior-officials/Bios/gita-gopinath | title=Gita Gopinath | publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] | date=3 January 2019 | access-date=14 April 2020}}</ref> She is married to Iqbal Singh Dhaliwal, her classmate from the [[Delhi School of Economics]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=3 December 2021|title=Who Is Gita Gopinath's Husband Iqbal Dhaliwal, IAS Topper Now Heading MIT's J-PAL|url=https://www.thebetterindia.com/267827/gita-gopinath-husband-iqbal-dhaliwal-ias-topper-mit-poverty-action-lab/|access-date=19 January 2022|website=The Better India}}</ref> The couple together have a son (born 2002) named Rohil.<ref>{{Cite web |date=3 December 2021 |title=Gita Gopinath: From Mysuru to No. 2 Official at IMF, First Indian to Take up the Top Role |url=https://www.news18.com/news/business/gita-gopinath-from-mysuru-to-no-2-official-at-imf-she-made-history-once-again-4513184.html |access-date=7 March 2022 |website=News18 }}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Gita Gopinath}}
*[https://www.imf.org/en/About/Senior-Officials/Bios/gita-gopinath Profile at International Monetary Fund]
*[https://scholar.harvard.edu/gopinath Harvard University Profile]
*{{Scopus}}
*{{IMDb name}}

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{{s-bef|before=[[Maurice Obstfeld]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund]]|years=2019–2022}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gopinath, Gita}}
[[Category:1971 births]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesswomen]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:20th-century American economists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian businesspeople]]
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[[Category:20th-century Indian economists]]
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[[Category:20th-century Indian women scientists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American businesswomen]]
[[Category:21st-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:21st-century American economists]]
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[[Category:21st-century Indian businesswomen]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian economists]]
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[[Category:American people of Malayali descent]]
[[Category:American social sciences writers]]
[[Category:American women economists]]
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[[Category:Businesspeople from Mysore]]
[[Category:Businesswomen from Karnataka]]
[[Category:Delhi School of Economics alumni]]
[[Category:Delhi University alumni]]
[[Category:Educators from Karnataka]]
[[Category:Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Econometric Society]]
[[Category:Harvard Business School faculty]]
[[Category:Indian editors]]
[[Category:Indian emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Indian Hindus]]
[[Category:Indian social sciences writers]]
[[Category:Indian women economists]]
[[Category:Indian women editors]]
[[Category:Indian women science writers]]
[[Category:International Monetary Fund people]]
[[Category:Lady Shri Ram College alumni]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Malayali people]]
[[Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States]]
[[Category:People with Overseas Citizenship of India]]
[[Category:Princeton University alumni]]
[[Category:Recipients of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman]]
[[Category:Scholars from Mysore]]
[[Category:University of Chicago Booth School of Business faculty]]
[[Category:University of Washington alumni]]
[[Category:Women educators from Karnataka]]
[[Category:Women scientists from Karnataka]]
[[Category:Writers from Mysore]]
[[Category:21st-century American statisticians]]

Gita Gopinath - Revision history

Varundigitalmedia at 18:11, 27 January 2026