Christine Lagarde Autograph

Profession:
Christine Madeleine Odette Lagarde (1956-) French politician and lawyer who is the current president of the European Central Bank, a position she has held since 1 November 2019. Prior to this appointment and between July 2011 and September 2019, she was the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Year of Birth: 1956

Christine Madeleine Odette Lagarde is a French politician and lawyer who has held multiple positions in government and the private sector. She currently serves as the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) since 2011, and is the first woman to ever hold the position. Prior to the IMF, she was the French Minister of Economy, Finance and Employment from 2007 to 2011. Lagarde also served as a Member of Parliament for the Pyrénées-Orientales from June 2009 to July 2016.

Lagarde was born on January 1, 1956 in Paris, France. She is the daughter of a professor of English and a professor of Latin. She attended Holton Arms School in Bethesda, Maryland, USA for her secondary education. From there, she went on to Paris West University Nanterre La Défense, where she obtained a Master’s degree in English and labor law. She also has a Masters of Law from the University of London.

In 1981, Lagarde joined the international law firm Baker & McKenzie, becoming the firm’s first female Chairperson in 1999. She left the firm in 2005 to pursue a political career in her home country of France. She then served as the French Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries under President Nicolas Sarkozy from 2007 to 2008. After that, she was appointed as the French Minister of Economy, Finance and Employment, where she served until 2011.

In 2011, Lagarde was appointed as the first woman to ever hold the position of Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund. At the IMF, she has been credited with leading the Fund through the European financial crisis, and has been a strong advocate for measures to promote economic growth and financial stability. She has also been a vocal advocate for gender equality in the workplace and has pushed for greater inclusion of women in the IMF.

In addition to her roles in government and the IMF, Lagarde has served on various boards and advisory councils, including the Boards of Trustees of the Institute of International Finance, the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the Group of Thirty, and the China Europe International Business School. She has also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Finance Corporation.

Lagarde has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the Legion of Honor and the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. She was also named as one of the world’s most powerful women by Forbes magazine for seven consecutive years, from 2011 to 2017. She has been recognized for her leadership in the public and private sectors, and has been widely praised for her commitment to promoting economic development and gender equality.