The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international landing organization of 188 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth and reduce poverty around the world. The IMF was conceived at the Bretton Woods conference in New Hampshire, USA, on December 27, 1945 when 29 countries signed the treaty called Articles of Agreement. It started its financial operations on March 1, 1947. The organization sought to rebuild Europe after world war ll. The statutory goal of the IMF is to oversee exchange rates, give financial and technical assistance to the member countries and to address global economic problems. Its headquarters is located in Washington, D.C., USA.
The IMF has a Board of Governors, composed of as many governors as there are member states; 24 executive directors; and a managing director and staff. All powers of the IMF are vested in its Board of Governors on which all member states are represented. The Board of Governors is responsible for basic things such as the admission of new members, quota changes and more, but it delegates most of its powers to the Executive Directors of the Fund. The 24 executives and the (24 alternates) make up the Executive Board and it is responsible for the Funds general operation. The Executive Board gets its orders from the Board of Governors. The managing director is chosen by the executive directors and is responsible for conducting the ordinary business of the Fund and for cheering the meetings of the executive directors. The staff is consisted of about 2650 persons from 140 countries.
The IMF fundamental mission is to help ensure stability in the international system. It does this in three ways: surveillance, lending, and by giving technical assistance. The IMF oversees the international monetary system and monitors the economic policies of its members. It