Karnit Flug

Karnit Flug (קרנית פלוג; born January 9, 1955) is a Polish-born Israeli economist and government official who served as the 9th governor of the Bank of Israel from 2013 to 2018.

She was the first, and to date the only, woman to hold that position.

Karnit Flug graduated with a master's degree in economics from Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1980, and a PhD in economics from Columbia University in 1985.

In 1984 she joined the International Monetary Fund as an economist, then returned to Israel in 1988 and joined the Research Department of the Bank of Israel.

In 1994 Dr. Flug was on leave from the central bank for two years, assigned to work at the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington D.C. as a Senior Research Economist.

She returned to BoI in 1997 while appointed deputy director of the Research Department, then elevated to Department's Director and a member of the Bank's senior management in June 2001, a position she held for ten years.

In July 2011, Flug appointed by the Israeli Government as deputy governor of the Bank of Israel, on the recommendation of the BoI Governor Stanley Fischer.

She served as Acting Governor from July 2013 until November, after Fisher's resignation.

In October 2013, she was officially nominated to be the next Governor of the Bank of Israel by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, edging out initially chosen former BoI chief Jacob Frenkel, ending several months of uncertainty.

On November 13, 2013, she was sworn in as governor, becoming the first woman to take the position.

Flug won an "A" grade three times in Global Finance Magazine's annual Central Banker Report Cards, and was repeatedly considered one of the best bank governors in the world.