Christine Lagarde - International Monetary Fund - Appointment

Appointment

In May 2011, Lagarde was mentioned as a possible successor of Dominique Strauss-Kahn as Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Her candidacy received the support of the British, Indian, United States, Russian, Chinese and German governments.

On 25 May 2011, Lagarde announced her candidacy to be head of the IMF to succeed Dominique Strauss-Kahn upon his resignation.

On 28 June 2011, the IMF board elected Lagarde as its next managing director and chairman for a five-year term, starting on 5 July 2011. Agustín Carstens and Kemal Derviş were also considered for the post. The IMF's executive board praised both candidates as well-qualified, but decided on Lagarde by consensus. Lagarde became the first woman to be elected as the head of the IMF. Carstens would have been the first non-European. His candidacy was supported by the Latin American governments, as well as Spain, Canada and Australia.

Her appointment comes amidst the intensification of the European sovereign debt crisis especially in Greece, with fears looming of loan defaults. The United States in particular supported her expeditious appointment in light of the fragility of Europe's economic situation.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has said that Lagarde's "exceptional talent and broad experience will provide invaluable leadership for this indispensable institution at a critical time for the global economy." Nicolas Sarkozy referred to Lagarde's appointment as "a victory for France." Oxfam, a charity working in developing nations, called her appointment process "farcical" and argued that what it saw as the lack of transparency in the appointment process hurt the IMF's credibility.