The International Monetary Fund completed its search for a new leader with the election on Tuesday (June 28) of Christine Lagarde, the current finance minister of France, to become the next managing director of the fund.
Lagarde was selected by consensus by IMF’s executive board, which last week interviewed the minister and her only contender for the position, Mexico’s Agustin Carstens. She succeeds fellow French national Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who resigned in May in light of legal woes he is facing in the United States.
>> IMF Executive Board Concludes Interviews with Agustin Carstens, Christine Lagarde
>> Dominique Strauss-Kahn Steps Down as IMF Chief
“I am deeply honored by the trust placed in me by the executive board,” Lagarde said in a statement issued shortly after her election. “I will make it my overriding goal that our institution continues to serve its entire membership with the same focus and the same spirit. As I have had the opportunity to say to the IMF board during the selection process, the IMF must be relevant, responsive, effective, and legitimate, to achieve stronger and sustainable growth, macroeconomic stability, and a better future for all.”
Lagarde will start her five-year term as managing director and executive board chairman on July 5. She comes on board as IMF is preparing to boost its role in helping to address the debt crisis in Europe.
Lagarde’s selection over Carstens was reportedly clinched after the United States voiced its support for the French minister, a move replicated by China, Brazil, Russia and India, according to Reuters.
The four emerging countries, along with South Africa, were initially strongly opposed to the idea of another European leading IMF but changed their positions following Lagarde’s global tour to rally more support for her candidacy. The emerging countries reportedly warmed up to Lagarde after seeing her as their best chance to secure more voting power and representation in IMF.
>> Christine Lagarde Begins Earning Emerging Nations’ Support For IMF Bid
Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega said his country supported Lagarde because of her promise to raise the “profile of emerging markets” in IMF and urged the newly elected managing director to meet this commitment.
The United States did not publicly support any candidate throughout the nomination and selection process, but U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton noted during a visit in London that her country supports having women in key positions in international organizations.
Lagarde is the first woman to lead IMF since the organization’s establishment in 1946.
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