Never before had a non-Israeli been appointed governor of the Bank of Israel. Stanley Fischer, former first deputy managing director of the IMF, is a first.
Mr Fischer, the Zambia-born, previous vice-chairman of Citibank, surprised everyone when he accepted the post in January 2005. Before starting in May, he spent time becoming proficient in Hebrew. In post, he has already worked with two prime ministers (Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert) and three finance ministers (Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr Olmert and Avraham Hirshenzon) to try to prevent financial tremors in the wake of Mr Sharon’s sudden illness and the general elections.
