- IMF Names Mateusz Szczurek to Lead European Department From July 2026
The International Monetary Fund has announced the appointment of former Polish Finance Minister Mateusz Szczurek as Director of its European Department, effective July 27, 2026.
Mr Szczurek will succeed Alfred Kammer, who is retiring from the Fund.
The appointment was announced by IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, who said Mr Szczurek brings a strong combination of policy leadership, government experience, multilateral expertise and deep knowledge of Europe’s economic landscape.
“Mateusz’s unique combination of executive and policy leadership and deep knowledge of the European economic landscape will be invaluable in advancing the Fund’s work with its European members,” Ms Georgieva said.
Mr Szczurek, a Polish national, served as Poland’s Minister of Finance from 2013 to 2015, where he was responsible for fiscal policy, public debt management, international economic cooperation and oversight of financial institutions.
During his time in government, he represented Poland in major international fora and played a role in reforms aimed at strengthening fiscal management and public administration.
Since 2024, Mr Szczurek has served as Member of the Management Board and Chief Risk Officer at BGK, Poland’s development bank, where he has overseen risk, environmental, social and governance issues, sectoral analysis and financial modelling.
Before joining BGK, he held senior roles at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development from 2016 to 2024, leading work on macroeconomic assessment, reform monitoring and policy dialogue in European Union countries of operation.
He was also a member of the inaugural European Fiscal Board, contributing to discussions on Europe’s fiscal framework.
Earlier in his career, Mr Szczurek served as Chief Economist for Central and Eastern Europe at ING Bank and held various economist positions in the banking sector.
He has also taught public finance and international economics at the University of Warsaw.
Mr Szczurek holds degrees from the University of Warsaw, Columbia University and the University of Sussex, where he earned a PhD in Economics.
The IMF’s European Department leads the Fund’s work on economic policies and reforms across Europe, providing policy advice, financial support and technical assistance to member countries.
His appointment comes at a time when Europe continues to navigate fiscal pressures, energy security concerns, defence spending demands, productivity challenges and the broader implications of global economic fragmentation.
For the IMF, the leadership transition places a former finance minister and development banking executive at the centre of its engagement with European economies at a delicate moment for regional policy coordination.
The Fund’s message is clear: Europe’s next policy phase will require not only macroeconomic discipline, but also credible reform leadership capable of balancing fiscal sustainability, growth and resilience.
