Poul M. Thomsen is the Director of the IMF’s European Department. He oversees the IMF’s bilateral surveillance for the 44 countries in the Department, its policy dialogue with EU institutions, including the ECB, and its program discussions with European countries and Fund supported programs.
Before taking up his current position, Mr. Thomsen had, as Deputy Director of the European Department, the primary responsibility for the Fund’s programs with European countries affected by the global financial crisis and the subsequent crisis in the Euro Zone, including as mission chief for Iceland, Greece and Portugal and as supervisor of the programs for Romania and Ukraine. During the 1990s and early 2000s, Mr. Thomsen gained extensive knowledge of the economic and social problems facing the countries in Central and Eastern Europe including as mission chief for multiple countries in the region, the IMF’s Senior Resident Representative and Director of the Fund’s Moscow Office.
