NO.094

The Treasurer, the Hon Peter Costello, today announced that Mr Michael Callaghan, a

senior official with the Commonwealth Treasury, has been elected to the position of

Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington DC.

Mr Callaghan will represent a constituency of countries within the IMF, the members of

which are: Australia, Kiribati, Korea, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia,

Mongolia, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Seychelles, Solomon

Islands and Vanuatu. Mr Callaghan was elected by the Governors to the IMF from these

countries at the 2000 regular elections which were held at the recent IMF Annual Meetings

in Prague.

Mr Callaghan will replace Mr Greg Taylor, AO as Executive Director at the IMF. Mr

Taylor completes his term on 31 October 2000 and Mr Callaghan will take up his position

from 1 November.

Australia has been a member of the IMF since it came into existence in 1945. The IMF is

an organisation of 182 member countries, established to promote international monetary

cooperation and exchange stability, to foster economic and employment growth, and to

provide temporary financial assistance to countries under adequate safeguards to help ease

balance of payments adjustment. Following the financial crises of 1997-98 a key task of

the IMF has been to strengthen the stability of the international financial system and to

review its future role and operations.

Mr Callaghan is a highly experienced senior Treasury officer who has dealt with a very

wide range of economic policy and financial matters. He has also had extensive experience

on international economic issues and a long-standing interest in the IMF, having served in

the IMF in the early 1980s. In 1998 he was the Secretary to the Prime Minister’s Task

Force on International Financial Reform. More recently Mr Callaghan has been seconded to

the Treasurer’s Office as Chief of Staff and has been heavily involved in tax reform

issues.

CANBERRA ACT

5 October 2000