The IMF came into existence in December 1945 and started functioning in March 1947. It is an autonomous organisation and is affiliated to the U.N.O. It has its main office in Washington.
Initially, the IMF had 30 countries as its members. As on April 30, 1986, the membership of the Fund was 149, covering nearly all the non-communist nations of the world.
The management of the Fund is under the control of two bodies: (a) Board of Governors and (b) Board of Executive Directors. The Board of Governors is the general body of management consisting of one Governor and an Alternate Governor for each member country.
The Board of Governors has the responsibility of formulating the general policies of the Fund. The Board of Executive Directors controls the day-to-day activities of the Fund.
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Currently, it consists of 22 directors; six of these directors are appointed by the members having the largest quotas, namely, the United States, the United Kingdom, West Germany, France, Japan and Saudi Arabia, and the remaining sixteen directors are elected by other nations.
The Managing Director is the chairman of the Board of Executive Directors as well as the head of the staff of the Fund.