Meet The IMF's New Leader, Christine Lagarde

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French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde was named the IMF's new managing director — the first woman to secure the top job.

Published: June 28, 2011

by Yuki Noguchi

Christine Lagarde, France's finance minister, secured the top job at the International Monetary Fund — the first woman to ever do so.

She'll fill a spot vacated by former Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who was arrested in May on charges of attempted rape.

From the moment Strauss-Kahn was led away in handcuffs, Lagarde was the leading candidate to replace him.

Lagarde was appointed to French President Nicolas Sarkozy's Cabinet in 2007. Her attempt to change French work culture and encourage more U.S.-style Puritan workaholism has led her countrymen to sometimes refer to her as "the American."

"One of the Communist members of the National Assembly, we still have a few of them, actually addressed me in English, just to probably pull my leg or take the mick out of me," she told NPR in 2007.

Lagarde acquired her American sensibilities over years of living in the U.S. She spent a year of high school at the private Holton-Arms School near Washington, D.C.

She speaks impeccable English, and her friends include former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. She also served as the first female chairman of the U.S.- based law firm Baker & McKenzie.

Her popularity even earned her a 2009 appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

An Unusual Campaign

Lagarde's power base comes from Europe and the U.S., but she waged an unusually public, global campaign for the IMF job.

The 55-year-old Lagarde tweeted her way through her global stops as she courted votes from Brazil and India — emerging economies that have long wanted to see someone from the developing world in the top job at the IMF. She posted pictures and interview footage, including an online video from India's CNBC-TV18.

In the middle of this worldwide tour, Lagarde held an online conference of sorts where she took questions from her online followers and Facebook friends.

Here's a question posed by LuxeChronicles:

@Lagarde If your candidacy is confirmed, will you continue to use social media to improve transparency in the workings of the IMF?

And three minutes later, Lagarde responded:

Why not if it is in compliance with the rules of the Fund, and if you follow me!

There was one potential hitch in Lagarde's campaign: A French court must decide whether she abused power in her role in a large settlement involving one of Sarkozy's friends.

Another issue she had to address is that she has no economics degree, but Lagarde has said she's made up for that with experience.

Leadership Experience

In the past four years, Lagarde led her country through the financial crisis, implementation of austerity measures and its chairmanship of the G-20 countries. She also corralled European support for the initial bailout of Greece.

Edwin Truman, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, has met Lagarde on several occasions. He says her style is both politically forceful but personally charming and likable.

"She is an aggressive spokesperson for the advancement of women in everything," he says. "And indeed the truth of the matter is [that] in the economic and financial area, women are for a variety of reasons underrepresented."

A divorced mother of two, she likes to trumpet womanhood as an asset in the world of finance.

"I think we inject less libido," she said during an October interview with Christiane Amanpour on ABC's This Week. "And less testosterone into the equation. ... It helps in the sense that we don't necessarily project our egos into cutting a deal."

The only other contender was a man — Mexican central banker Agustin Carstens. [Copyright 2013 NPR]

TRANSCRIPT:

ROBERT SIEGEL, Host:

From NPR News, this is All Things Considered. I'm Robert Siegel.

MELISSA BLOCK, Host:

And I'm Melissa Block.

The French finance minister, Christine Lagarde, has secured the top job at the International Monetary Fund. She'll be filling the position vacated by former Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn. He was arrested last month on charges of attempted rape. From the moment Strauss-Kahn was led away in handcuffs, Lagarde was the leading candidate to replace him.

NPR's Yuki Noguchi has this profile of the first woman to head the IMF.

YUKI NOGUCHI: Earlier today, the U.S. announced its support for Christine Lagarde's candidacy. Hours later, the IMF board announced its decision. She's popular in France, although sometimes her countrymen refer to Lagarde as the American.

(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)

CHRISTINE LAGARDE: Yes, that's true.

NOGUCHI: Here, she's speaking to NPR in 2007, the same year of her appointment to French President Nicolas Sarkozy's cabinet. Her American-ness included an attempt to change French work culture and encourage more U.S.-style Puritan workaholism(ph).

LARGARDE: One of the communist members of the National Assembly, we still have a few of them, actually addressed me in English, just to probably, you know, pull my leg or take the mick(ph) out of me.

NOGUCHI: Lagarde acquired her American sensibilities over years of living in the U.S. She spent a year of high school at the private Holton-Arms School near Washington, D.C. She speaks impeccable English. Her friends include Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and she served as the first female chairman of the U.S.- based law firm Baker & McKenzie. Her popularity even earned her a 2009 appearance on Jon Stewart's "Daily Show." Here, he's praising her handling of banks in France.

JON STEWART, Host:

You went in there and fired a couple of bankers.

LAGARDE: Yes, I did, sir.

STEWART: Can you fire a couple of ours?

(SOUNDBITE OF AUDIENCE CHEERING)

NOGUCHI: Though her power base comes from Europe and the U.S., she waged an unusually public, global campaign for the IMF job. The 55-year-old Lagarde tweeted her way through her global stops as she courted votes from Brazil and India, emerging economies that have long wanted to see someone from the developing world in a top job at the IMF. She posted pictures and interview footage, including this online video from India's CNBC-TV18.

LARGARDE: Clearly, emerging economies must have appropriate representation.

NOGUCHI: In the middle of this worldwide tour, Lagarde held an online conference of sorts. She took questions from her online followers and Facebook friends. Here's one question from LuxeChronicles asking, will you continue to use social media to improve transparency in the workings of the IMF? And three minutes later from Lagarde, why not, if it's in compliance with the rules of the Fund, and if you follow me?

There was one potential hitch in Lagarde's campaign. A French court must decide whether she abused power in her role in a large settlement involving one of President Sarkozy's friends. Another issue she had to address - she has no economics degree, something Lagarde has said she's made up for with experience.

In the past four years, Lagarde led her country through the financial crisis, implementation of austerity measures and its chairmanship of the G-20 countries. She corralled European support for the initial bailout of Greece.

Edwin Truman is a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Truman has met Lagarde on several occasions. He says her style is both politically forceful but personally charming and likable.

EDWIN TRUMAN: She is an aggressive spokesperson for the advancement of women and everything. And indeed, the truth of the matter is, in the economic and financial area, women are, for a variety of reasons, underrepresented.

NOGUCHI: Lagarde is silver-haired and statuesque. The divorced mother of two likes to trumpet womanhood as an asset in the world of finance. Here she is from an October interview with Christiane Amanpour on ABC's "This Week."

LARGARDE: I think we inject less libido, less testosterone.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, Host:

Less libido?

LARGARDE: Yes, and less testosterone into the equation.

AMANPOUR: And how does that help?

LAGARDE: It helps in the sense that we don't necessarily project our own egos into cutting a deal.

NOGUCHI: The only other contender for the IMF job was a man, Mexican central banker Agustin Carstens.

Yuki Noguchi, NPR News, Washington. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.