NEVEN MATES
Home: Palmotićeva 30, Zagreb, Croatia
E-MAIL: NEVENMATES@YAHOO.COM
Cell: +385 786 3495
NATIONALITY: CROATIAN
BORN: JANUARY 21, 1951, ZAGREB, CROATIA
Areas of principal interest: Macroeconomics, fiscal policy, budget management and
intergovernmental fiscal relations, financial sector issues. Extensive experience in writing
country macroeconomic reports. Held managerial positions in the European Department of
the IMF (Division Chief, Advisor in the Front Office, Senior Resident Representative). Led
IMF missions and program negotiations in emerging market economies of Central and
Eastern Europe.
EMPLOYMENT
CROATIAN NATIONAL BANK (July 2009-Present)

Chief Advisor to the Governor
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, WASHINGTON, DC, USA (1992-2009)
 Head of the IMF Moscow Office, Russia. Dealing with macroeconomic issues in an oilproducing country at the time of high oil prices: Implications for fiscal, monetary policy
and banking supervision. Member of the IMF delegation at G8 Finance Ministers
meeting (October 2004-February 2009);
 Mission Chief for Belarus, concurrently with the position in Moscow (October 2007February 2009);
 Mission Chief for Romania. As the Chief Negotiator for two Stand-By programs,
designed an anti-inflationary program that successfully brought inflation down from
40 percent to a single digit level, based on complex conditionality in the fiscal and
monetary areas, combined with profound structural reforms, including energy price
issues. The program played a prominent role in Romania’s accession to the EU (January
2001-September 2004);
 Mission Chief for Albania. Negotiated agreement on one of the first Poverty Reduction
and Growth Facility programs and coordinated production of poverty reduction strategy
paper. January 2000-December 2000;
 Senior Desk Officer for Slovakia, European Department. Surveillance of fiscal,
monetary and financial sector policies (October 1997-December 1999);
 Senior Desk Officer for Macedonia, European Department. Closely involved in
negotiating and monitoring monetary policy and fiscal and structural conditionality under
the Stand-by arrangement. (July 1995-September 1997);
 Fiscal Economist for Poland, Fiscal Affairs Department (January 1994-June 1995). In
charge of fiscal issues, particularly pension reform, under a Stand-by Arrangement and
Article IV surveillance;
-2-

Fiscal Economist for Pakistan, Fiscal Affairs Department. Participated in negotiations of
several IMF arrangements. Author of the paper on fiscal federalism issues in the region.
(April 1992-December 1993);
INSTITUTE OF ECONOMICS ZAGREB, CROATIA (1977-1992)
 VARIOUS RESEARCH POSITIONS, including Chief of Division for monetary policy, and the
Research Fellow;
OTHER POSITIONS
 Advised the Governor of the National Bank of Croatia on the introduction of the first
Croatian currency after the declaration of Croatian independence (1991-1992);
 Member of the Board of the Bank Rehabilitation Agency of the Government of the
former SFR Yugoslavia (1989-1990);
 Member of advisory committees on macroeconomic policy and structural reforms
formed by the Federal Government of the former SFR Yugoslavia (1980-1989).
EDUCATION
 PhD in Economics, Faculty of Economics, University of Zagreb (1988);
 Masters Degree in Economics, Faculty of Foreign Trade, University of Zagreb, (1981);
 B.A. Faculty of Political Science, University of Zagreb (1975);

Fulbright scholar, North-Western University, Evanston, IL, USA (1990).
LANGUAGES
Croatian (native), English (fluent, good writing skills), Russian (fair), German (fair).