WASHINGTON - The International Monetary Fund(IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde said Wednesday she has named Jianhai Lin, a Chinese national, as the Secretary of the Fund.

"I have informed the Executive Board of my intention to appoint Jianhai Lin as the Secretary of the Fund," Lagarde said in a statement.

The appointment will take effect on March 22 and Lin will be the first Chinese to lead the Secretary's Department of the Washington-based global institution. He will succeed Siddharth Tiwari, who was recently appointed as director of the Strategy, Policy and Review Department.

Lagarde lauded Lin's wide-ranging Fund career in both country and policy work, saying his breadth of experience has been of particular benefit to the IMF, where his skill in building consensus among staff, management and IMF's global membership has been essential for the productive work of the Executive Board during one of most challenging periods in the Fund's history.

Lin has been Acting Director of Secretary's Department since November 2011. Before coming to the Fund, he worked in the financial sector and academia, the statement said.

The Secretary's Department has operational responsibility for the Executive Board of the IMF, and also serves as the regular point of contact with the Fund's 187 member countries on institutional matters.