On this day – June 28th

First female MD of the IMF

Christine Madeleine Odette Lagarde is a French lawyer and politician serving as Managing Director (MD) and Chairwoman of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) since 2011.

She previously held various senior ministerial posts in the Government of France: she was Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industry (2007-2011), Minister of Agriculture and Fishing (2007) and Minister of Commerce (2005-2007). Lagarde was the first woman to become Finance Minister of a G8 economy and is the first woman to head the IMF. A noted anti-trust and labour lawyer, Lagarde was the first female chairman of the major international law firm Baker & McKenzie, between 1999 and 2004. On 16 November 2009, the Financial Times ranked her the best Finance Minister in the Eurozone.

On 28 June 2011, she was named as the next Managing Director of the IMF for a five-year term, replacing Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Her appointment is the 11th consecutive appointment of a European to head the IMF. In 2014, Lagarde was ranked the 5th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine. She was reelected by consensus for a second five-year term, starting 5 July 2016, being the only candidate nominated for the post of Managing Director

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