Christine Lagarde
Encyclopedia
Christine Madeleine Odette Lagarde (née
Lallouette; born 1 January 1956) is a French
lawyer and the managing director of the International Monetary Fund
since July 5, 2011. Previously, she held various ministerial posts in the French government: she was Minister of Economic Affairs, Finances and Industry and before that Minister of Agriculture and Fishing
and Minister of Trade in the government of Dominique de Villepin
. Lagarde was the first woman ever to become minister of Economic Affairs of a G8
economy, and is the first woman to ever head the IMF.
A noted antitrust and labour lawyer, Lagarde made history as the first female chair of the international law firm Baker & McKenzie
.
On 16 November 2009, The Financial Times ranked her the best minister of finance of the Eurozone.
On 28 June 2011, she was named as the next managing director of the International Monetary Fund
for a five-year term, starting on 5 July 2011, replacing Dominique Strauss-Kahn
. This made her the 11th European running to head the IMF. In 2011, Lagarde was ranked the 9th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine.
; her mother Nicole worked as a teacher. After graduation in 1974 at the Lycée François 1er in Le Havre
, she went on a scholarship to the Holton-Arms School
, a girls' school in Bethesda
, Maryland
, USA. Then she graduated from law school at University Paris X Nanterre, near Paris, France, and obtained a Master's Degree in political science from the Institut d'études politiques d'Aix-en-Provence
(Sciences Po Aix). Since 2010, she has presided over the Institute's board of directors.
Lagarde worked as an intern
at the United States Capitol
, as William Cohen
's congressional assistant.
As a teenager, Lagarde was a member of the French national synchronised swimming team. She is divorced and has two sons, Pierre-Henri Lagarde (born 1986) and Thomas Lagarde (born 1988). Since 2006, her partner has been the entrepreneur Xavier Giocanti from Marseille
. She is a vegetarian and never drinks alcohol
. Her hobbies are yoga, scuba diving, swimming and gardening.
The fashion magazine Vogue
profiled Lagarde in September 2011.
, a large Chicago-based international law firm, in 1981. She handled major antitrust and labor cases, was made partner after six years and was named head of the firm in Western Europe. She joined the executive committee in 1995 and was elected the company's first ever female Chairman in October 1999.
In 2004, Lagarde became president of the global strategic committee.
Her personal interest in European affairs led her to open the European Law Centre, an office of Baker & McKenzie in Brussels
exclusively dedicated to the practice of European Union law
.
. The following month she joined François Fillon's cabinet in the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry and Employment to become the first woman to ever be in charge of economic policy in France.
On August 3, 2011, a French court ordered an investigation into Christine Lagarde's role in a €285 million arbitration deal in favour of Bernard Tapie
.
as managing director of the International Monetary Fund
. Her candidacy received the support of the United States
, Russia
n, Chinese
, British
, German
and India
n governments.
On 25 May 2011, Lagarde officially announced her candidacy as head of the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) to replace Dominique Strauss-Kahn
upon his resignation.
On 28 June 2011, the International Monetary Fund
board elected Lagarde as its next managing director and chairman for a five-year term, starting on 5 July 2011. Agustín Carstens
was also considered for the post. The IMF's executive board praised both candidates as well-qualified, but decided on Lagarde by consensus. Carstens would have been the first non-European to be elected as the head of the IMF. His candidacy was supported by the Latin America
n 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 the choice "farcical" and argued that what it saw as the lack of transparency in the appointment process hurt the IMF's credibility.
, she stated that besides short-term stimulus efforts: "we must, very decisively, cut our deficit and reduce our debt."
In public remarks made right after her appointment, Lagarde stated that both the IMF and EU require Greek austerity measures as a prerequisite for further aid. She said, "If I have one message tonight about Greece, it is to call on the Greek political opposition to support the party that is currently in power in a spirit of national unity." Lagarde's view of her predecessor is that: "The IMF has taken up the challenges of the crisis thanks to the actions of the director general Dominique Strauss-Kahn and to his team as well."
Questioned about her economic philosophy, Lagarde has described herself as "with Adam Smith
—that is, liberal."
Inside Job
(2010), which later won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
Lagarde was portrayed by actress Laila Robins
in the 2011 HBO movie Too Big to Fail
, which was based on the popular book of the same name by New York Times journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin
. Lagarde, acting as the French Finance Minister, has a scene criticizing her American counterpart Hank Paulson.
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NEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
Lallouette; born 1 January 1956) is a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
lawyer and the managing director of the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
since July 5, 2011. Previously, she held various ministerial posts in the French government: she was Minister of Economic Affairs, Finances and Industry and before that Minister of Agriculture and Fishing
Minister of Agriculture (France)
The Ministry of Agriculture and Fishing of France is the governmental body charged with regulation and policy, for agriculture, fisheries, forestry and food.The department is headquartered in Hotel Villeroy, at No...
and Minister of Trade in the government of Dominique de Villepin
Dominique de Villepin
Dominique Marie François René Galouzeau de Villepin is a French politician who served as the Prime Minister of France from 31 May 2005 to 17 May 2007....
. Lagarde was the first woman ever to become minister of Economic Affairs of a G8
G8
The Group of Eight is a forum, created by France in 1975, for the governments of seven major economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1997, the group added Russia, thus becoming the G8...
economy, and is the first woman to ever head the IMF.
A noted antitrust and labour lawyer, Lagarde made history as the first female chair of the international law firm Baker & McKenzie
Baker & McKenzie
Baker & McKenzie is an international law firm, founded in Chicago in 1949 by Russell Baker and John McKenzie. It is home to more than 3,800 lawyers spread over 70 offices in 42 different countries....
.
On 16 November 2009, The Financial Times ranked her the best minister of finance of the Eurozone.
On 28 June 2011, she was named as the next managing director of the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
for a five-year term, starting on 5 July 2011, replacing Dominique Strauss-Kahn
Dominique Strauss-Kahn
Dominique Gaston André Strauss-Kahn , often referred to in the media, and by himself, as DSK, is a French economist, lawyer, politician, and member of the French Socialist Party...
. This made her the 11th European running to head the IMF. In 2011, Lagarde was ranked the 9th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine.
Personal life
Lagarde was born in Le Havre, a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France, as Christine Madeleine Odette Lallouette into a family of academics. Her father Robert Lallouette was a Professor of English at the Faculty of RouenRouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
; her mother Nicole worked as a teacher. After graduation in 1974 at the Lycée François 1er in Le Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
, she went on a scholarship to the Holton-Arms School
Holton-Arms School
Holton-Arms is an independent college-preparatory school for girls in grades 3–12, located in Bethesda, Maryland. The School's mission is to cultivate the unique potential of young women through the “education not only of the mind, but of the soul and spirit.” Holton-Arms is an independent...
, a girls' school in Bethesda
Bethesda
Bethesda , originally referring to the Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem , may also refer to:-United States:*Bethesda, Davidson County, North Carolina...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, USA. Then she graduated from law school at University Paris X Nanterre, near Paris, France, and obtained a Master's Degree in political science from the Institut d'études politiques d'Aix-en-Provence
Institut d'études politiques d'Aix-en-Provence
The Institut d'études politiques d'Aix-en-Provence , also known as the Institut d'études politiques or "Sciences Po Aix", is a grande école in political sciences, established in 1956 in the premises of the former Faculty of Law of the Université de Provence, France...
(Sciences Po Aix). Since 2010, she has presided over the Institute's board of directors.
Lagarde worked as an intern
Intern
Internship is a system of onthejob training for white-collar jobs, similar to an apprenticeship. Interns are usually college or university students, but they can also be high school students or post graduate adults seeking skills for a new career. They may also be as young as middle school or in...
at the United States Capitol
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
, as William Cohen
William Cohen
William Sebastian Cohen is an author and American politician from the U.S. state of Maine. A Republican, Cohen served as Secretary of Defense under Democratic President Bill Clinton.-Early life and education:...
's congressional assistant.
As a teenager, Lagarde was a member of the French national synchronised swimming team. She is divorced and has two sons, Pierre-Henri Lagarde (born 1986) and Thomas Lagarde (born 1988). Since 2006, her partner has been the entrepreneur Xavier Giocanti from Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
. She is a vegetarian and never drinks alcohol
Teetotalism
Teetotalism refers to either the practice of or the promotion of complete abstinence from alcoholic beverages. A person who practices teetotalism is called a teetotaler or is simply said to be teetotal...
. Her hobbies are yoga, scuba diving, swimming and gardening.
The fashion magazine Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
profiled Lagarde in September 2011.
Professional career
Lagarde joined Baker & McKenzieBaker & McKenzie
Baker & McKenzie is an international law firm, founded in Chicago in 1949 by Russell Baker and John McKenzie. It is home to more than 3,800 lawyers spread over 70 offices in 42 different countries....
, a large Chicago-based international law firm, in 1981. She handled major antitrust and labor cases, was made partner after six years and was named head of the firm in Western Europe. She joined the executive committee in 1995 and was elected the company's first ever female Chairman in October 1999.
In 2004, Lagarde became president of the global strategic committee.
Her personal interest in European affairs led her to open the European Law Centre, an office of Baker & McKenzie in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
exclusively dedicated to the practice of European Union law
European Union law
European Union law is a body of treaties and legislation, such as Regulations and Directives, which have direct effect or indirect effect on the laws of European Union member states. The three sources of European Union law are primary law, secondary law and supplementary law...
.
Ministerial career
As France's Trade Minister between 2005 and May 2007, Lagarde prioritized opening new markets for the country's products, focusing on the technology sector. On 18 May 2007, she was moved to the Ministry of Agriculture as part of the government of François FillonFrançois Fillon
François Charles Armand Fillon is the Prime Minister of France. He was appointed to that office by President Nicolas Sarkozy on 17 May 2007. He served initially until 13 November 2010 when he resigned from being prime minister before a planned cabinet reshuffle.On 14 November 2010, Sarkozy...
. The following month she joined François Fillon's cabinet in the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry and Employment to become the first woman to ever be in charge of economic policy in France.
On August 3, 2011, a French court ordered an investigation into Christine Lagarde's role in a €285 million arbitration deal in favour of Bernard Tapie
Bernard Tapie
Bernard Tapie is a French businessman, politician and occasional actor, singer, and TV host. He was Ministre de la Ville in the government of Pierre Bérégovoy, a businessman specializing in recovery for bankrupted companies, among which Adidas is the most famous ; and owner of sports teams...
.
Administrative record
In May 2011, Lagarde was mentioned as a possible successor of Dominique Strauss-KahnDominique Strauss-Kahn
Dominique Gaston André Strauss-Kahn , often referred to in the media, and by himself, as DSK, is a French economist, lawyer, politician, and member of the French Socialist Party...
as managing director of the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
. Her candidacy received the support of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n, Chinese
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n governments.
On 25 May 2011, Lagarde officially announced her candidacy as head of the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
(IMF) to replace Dominique Strauss-Kahn
Dominique Strauss-Kahn
Dominique Gaston André Strauss-Kahn , often referred to in the media, and by himself, as DSK, is a French economist, lawyer, politician, and member of the French Socialist Party...
upon his resignation.
On 28 June 2011, the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
board elected Lagarde as its next managing director and chairman for a five-year term, starting on 5 July 2011. Agustín Carstens
Agustín Carstens
Agustín Guillermo Carstens Carstens is a Mexican economist who has served as Governor of the Bank of Mexico since and was recently seeking to replace Dominique Strauss-Kahn as managing director of the International Monetary Fund...
was also considered for the post. The IMF's executive board praised both candidates as well-qualified, but decided on Lagarde by consensus. Carstens would have been the first non-European to be elected as the head of the IMF. His candidacy was supported by the Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n governments, as well as Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
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
United States Secretary of the Treasury
The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also with some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United...
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
Oxfam
Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...
, a charity working in developing nations, called the choice "farcical" and argued that what it saw as the lack of transparency in the appointment process hurt the IMF's credibility.
Viewpoints
In July 2010, Lagarde told the PBS NewsHour that the IMF lending project was "a very massive plan, totally unexpected, totally counter-treaty, because it wasn't scheduled in the treaty that we should do a bailout program, as we did." She also said, "we had essentially a trillion dollars on the table to confront any market attack that would target any country, whether it's Greece, Spain, Portugal, or anybody within the Eurozone." With respect to the French economyEconomy of France
France is the world's fifth largest economy by nominal figures and the ninth largest economy by PPP figures. It is the second largest economy in Europe in nominal figures and third largest economy in Europe in PPP figures...
, she stated that besides short-term stimulus efforts: "we must, very decisively, cut our deficit and reduce our debt."
In public remarks made right after her appointment, Lagarde stated that both the IMF and EU require Greek austerity measures as a prerequisite for further aid. She said, "If I have one message tonight about Greece, it is to call on the Greek political opposition to support the party that is currently in power in a spirit of national unity." Lagarde's view of her predecessor is that: "The IMF has taken up the challenges of the crisis thanks to the actions of the director general Dominique Strauss-Kahn and to his team as well."
Questioned about her economic philosophy, Lagarde has described herself as "with Adam Smith
Adam Smith
Adam Smith was a Scottish social philosopher and a pioneer of political economy. One of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, Smith is the author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations...
—that is, liberal."
Media
She was interviewed in the documentary filmDocumentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
Inside Job
Inside Job (film)
Inside Job is a 2010 documentary film about the late-2000s financial crisis directed by Charles H. Ferguson. The film is described by Ferguson as being about "the systemic corruption of the United States by the financial services industry and the consequences of that systemic corruption." In five...
(2010), which later won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
Lagarde was portrayed by actress Laila Robins
Laila Robins
-Personal life:Robins was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, the daughter of Latvian American parents Brigita and Janis Robins, who was a research chemist. She attended the Yale School of Drama, and received her undergraduate degree at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, . Robins has been in a...
in the 2011 HBO movie Too Big to Fail
Too Big to Fail
Too Big to Fail is a television drama film in the United States broadcast on HBO on May 23, 2011. It is based on the non-fiction book Too Big to Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin. The TV film was directed by Curtis Hanson...
, which was based on the popular book of the same name by New York Times journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin
Andrew Ross Sorkin
Andrew Ross Sorkin is a Gerald Loeb Award-winning American journalist, author and television personality. He is a financial columnist for The New York Times and a co-anchor of CNBC's Squawk Box. He is also the founder and editor of DealBook, a financial news service published by The New York Times...
. Lagarde, acting as the French Finance Minister, has a scene criticizing her American counterpart Hank Paulson.
External links
- imfboss.org Tracking the fight to head the Fund
- Column archives at Project SyndicateProject SyndicateProject Syndicate is an international not-for-profit newspaper syndicate and association of newspapers. It distributes commentaries and analysis by experts, activists, Nobel laureates, statesmen, economists, political thinkers, business leaders and academics to its member publications, and...
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