Lagarde Appointed to Top Job At IMF

BuaNews (Tshwane)

29 June 2011

Pretoria — French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde has been appointed as the first female Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“The Executive Board of the IMF selected Christine Lagarde to serve as IMF Managing Director and Madame Chairman of the Executive Board for a five-year term starting on July 5, 2011,” said the board on Tuesday.

South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) senior research, Peter Draper, said it will be business as usual at the fund following Legarde’s appointment.

“I think it will be business as usual. They changed from a French man to a woman for the first time,” Draper said on Wednesday.

Lagarde, 55, had been shortlisted along with Governor of the Bank of Mexico, Agustin Carstens when the post opened up in May due to the resignation of Dominique Strauss-Kahn. She is the first woman named to the top IMF post since the institution’s inception in 1944.

Draper said the selection of yet another European to head the IMF showed that “emerging markets have not really found their voice.” Emerging economies, including South Africa, had been calling for the next MD to come from developing nations.

She has been the Minister of Finance of France since June 2007. Prior to that, she served as France’s Minister for Foreign Trade for two years. She’s also had an extensive career as an anti-trust and labour lawyer.

Her selection by the 24-member Executive Board, representing the fund’s 187 member countries, brings to an end the selection process than began in May. Last week, the board met with both Legarde and Carstens where they presented their candidacies.

The Executive Board agreed that both were well qualified, with the objective of selecting one candidate by consensus.

“Based on the candidate profile that had been established, the Executive Board, after considering all relevant information on the candidacies, proceeded to select Ms. Lagarde by consensus. The Board looks forward to Ms. Lagarde effectively leading the International Monetary Fund as its next Managing Director.”

The Managing Director is the chief of the IMF’s operating staff and Chairman of the Executive Board. The executive is assisted by three Deputy Managing Directors in the operation of the Fund.

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