Abebe Aemro Selassie

Director, African Department I IMF

Abebe Aemro Selassie is the Director of the African Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a position he has held since 2016. In this capacity, Mr. Selassie oversees the IMF’s operations and engagement with 45 countries across sub-Saharan Africa, spanning the three main pillars of IMF work—policy advice, lending operations, and technical assistance. His responsibilities also include building strategic partnerships and dialogue with senior policymakers and institutions across the region.

Before taking up his current position, Mr. Selassie gained extensive experience in a wide-ranging 22-year career at the IMF. He held various senior positions, including Deputy Director in the African Department, Mission Chief for Portugal and South Africa, Division Chief of the African Department’s Regional Studies Division, and the IMF’s Senior Resident Representative in Uganda. Earlier in his career, he worked on the Fund’s lending programs with Turkey, Thailand, Romania and Estonia as well as being deeply involved in policy, operational review, and economic research work.

Before joining the IMF in 1994, he worked for the Government of Ethiopia and the Economist Intelligence Unit in London.

Mr. Selassie is an Ethiopian national. He completed his graduate studies at the London School of Economics.