Gita Gopinath — the Indian-American economist who is the Gregory and Ania Coffey Professor of Economics at Harvard University — was born on this day — December 8, 1971 — in Kolkata, India.

She is a graduate of Lady Shri Ram College at the University of Delhi, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts, and the Delhi School of Economics, where she earned a Master of Arts. She furthered her studies with a second Master of Arts from the University of Washington and a PhD in Economics from Princeton University.

Gopinath is a leading authority on international finance and macroeconomics. She served as the First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 2022 until August 2025, acting as the organization’s second-highest official. Previously, she served as the IMF’s Chief Economist. In late 2025, she returned to the faculty at Harvard to continue her research on global trade, exchange rates, and sovereign debt.

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