Christine Lagarde

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Christine Lagarde
Lagarde, Christine (official portrait 2011).jpg
11th Managing Director of the IMF
Incumbent
Assumed office
5 July 2011
Deputy John Lipsky
David Lipton
Preceded by Dominique Strauss-Kahn
Minister of Finance
In office
19 June 2007 – 29 June 2011
Prime Minister François Fillon
Preceded by Jean-Louis Borloo
Succeeded by François Baroin
Minister of Agriculture
In office
18 May 2007 – 18 June 2007
Prime Minister François Fillon
Preceded by Dominique Bussereau
Succeeded by Michel Barnier
Minister of Commerce and Industry
In office
2 June 2005 – 15 May 2007
Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin
Preceded by Christian Jacob
Succeeded by Position abolished
Personal details
Born Christine Madeleine Odette Lallouette
(1956-01-01) 1 January 1956 (age 57)
Paris, France
Political party Union for a Popular Movement
Spouse(s) Wilfried Lagarde (divorced)
Domestic partner Xavier Giocanti
Alma mater Paris West University Nanterre La Défense
Institute of Political Studies, Aix-en-Provence
Religion Roman Catholicism

Christine Madeleine Odette Lagarde (French: [kʁistin madlɛn ɔdɛt lagaʁd]) (née Lallouette, IPA: [laluɛt]; born 1 January 1956)[1] is a French lawyer and Union for a Popular Movement politician who has been the Managing Director (MD) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) since 5 July 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 finance minister of a G8 economy, and is the first woman to ever head the IMF.

A noted antitrust and labor lawyer, Lagarde became the first female chairman of the international law firm Baker & McKenzie. On 16 November 2009, the Financial Times ranked her the best Minister of Finance in the Eurozone.[2] On 28 June 2011, she was named as the next MD of the IMF for a five-year term, starting on 5 July 2011,[3][4][5] replacing Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Her appointment is the 11th consecutive appointment of a European to head the IMF.[6] In 2011, Lagarde was ranked the 8th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine.[7] On 29 October Lagarde accepted an honorary doctoral degree from the KU Leuven, in Courtray.

Contents

Personal life [edit]

Lagarde was born in Paris, France into a family of academics. Her father Robert Lallouette was a Professor of English; her mother Nicole was a Latin teacher. Lagarde and her three brothers, all younger, spent their childhood in Le Havre where she attended the Lycée François 1er and Lycée Claude Monet.[8][9][10] As a teenager, Lagarde was a member of the French national synchronised swimming team.[11] After her baccalauréat in 1973, she went on an American Field Service scholarship to the Holton-Arms School for girls in Bethesda, Maryland. During her year in America, Lagarde worked as an intern at the United States Capitol, as Representative William Cohen's congressional assistant, helping him correspond with his French-speaking constituents during the Watergate hearings.[12][13] She graduated from law school at Paris West University Nanterre La Défense, and obtained a Master's degree in English and labor law from the Institut d'études politiques d'Aix-en-Provence (Sciences Po Aix).[11][14] Since 2010, she has presided over the Institute's board of directors.[15]

Lagarde is twice divorced and has two sons, Pierre-Henri Lagarde (born 1986) and Thomas Lagarde (born 1988).[16] Since 2006, her partner has been the entrepreneur Xavier Giocanti from Marseille. She is a vegetarian and very rarely drinks alcohol.[8][17][18][19] Her hobbies include regular trips to the gym, cycling and swimming.[10]

Professional career [edit]

Lagarde joined Baker & McKenzie, 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.[20][21][22] In 2004, Lagarde became president of the global strategic committee.[23]

Ministerial career [edit]

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 Fillon.[24] The following month she joined François Fillon's cabinet in the Ministry of Economic Affairs,[25] Industry and Employment to become the first woman to ever be in charge of economic policy in France.

On 3 August 2011, a French court ordered an investigation into Christine Lagarde's role in a €285 million arbitration deal in favour of Bernard Tapie.[26] On 24 May 2013, after two days of questioning at the Court of Justice of the Republic, Lagarde was assigned the status of "assisted witness".[27]

International Monetary Fund [edit]

Appointment [edit]

In May 2011, Lagarde was mentioned as a possible successor of Dominique Strauss-Kahn as Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Her candidacy received the support of the British, Indian, United States, Russian, Chinese and German governments.[28][29][30][31][32]

On 25 May 2011, Lagarde announced her candidacy to be head of the IMF to succeed Dominique Strauss-Kahn upon his resignation.[33]

On 28 June 2011, the IMF board elected Lagarde as its next managing director and chairman for a five-year term, starting on 5 July 2011.[3][4][5] Agustín Carstens and Kemal Derviş were also considered for the post. The IMF's executive board praised both candidates as well-qualified, but decided on Lagarde by consensus. Lagarde became the first woman to be elected as the head of the IMF.[3] Carstens would have been the first non-European. His candidacy was supported by the Latin American governments, as well as Spain, Canada and Australia.[28]

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.[34]

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."[5] Nicolas Sarkozy referred to Lagarde's appointment as "a victory for France." Oxfam, a charity working in developing nations, called her appointment process "farcical" and argued that what it saw as the lack of transparency in the appointment process hurt the IMF's credibility.[4]

Viewpoints [edit]

Alistair Darling (left) with Lagarde and Timothy Geithner (right) in 2009

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 economy, she stated that besides short-term stimulus efforts: "we must, very decisively, cut our deficit and reduce our debt."[35]

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."[5] 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."[31] On 25 December 2011, Lagarde argued that the world economy was at risk and urged Europeans to unify in terms of the debt crisis facing the continent.[36]

Questioned about her economic philosophy, Lagarde has described herself as "with Adam Smith—that is, liberal."[19]

"Payback" controversy [edit]

In an interview with The Guardian in May 2012, Lagarde was asked about crisis-stricken Greece—where the suicide rate has increased by 40% and large sections of Athens are reduced to using food kitchens—and other struggling eurozone countries, and replied:

"Do you know what? As far as Athens is concerned, I also think about all those people who are trying to escape tax all the time. All these people in Greece who are trying to escape tax."

Even more than she thinks about all those now struggling to survive without jobs or public services? "I think of them equally. And I think they should also help themselves collectively."

How? "By all paying their tax. Yeah."

It sounds as if she's essentially saying to the Greeks and others in Europe, you've had a nice time and now it's payback time. "That's right." She nods calmly. "Yeah."[37][38]

Her comments provoked uproar: Evangelos Venizelos said she had "insulted the Greek people", while Alexis Tsipras declared coolly: "We don't need her compassion."[39][40] In an effort to quell the negative response, the next day Lagarde updated her Facebook page with: "As I have said many times before, I am very sympathetic to the Greek people and the challenges they are facing."[41] Within 24 hours, over 10,000 comments had been left in response, many of them obscene.[39] To her accusations that not enough Greeks paid their taxes, Professor Emeritus John Weeks of the University of London retorted: "The moral weight of Christine Lagarde's matronising of the Greeks to pay their taxes is not strengthened by the fact that, as director of the IMF, she is in receipt of a tax-free annual salary of $468,000 (£298,000, plus perks)."[42] In making general "payback" comments about peripheral eurozone countries having "had a nice time", Lagarde appeared to be unaware that, for example, Spain had actually been running budget surpluses for three consecutive years going into the financial crisis, while Ireland had been running surpluses for five consecutive years going in, as her own organisation's data shows.[43][44] In 2007, the EU Council even gave Spain three gold stars and a commendation, saying its "budgetary strategy provides a good example of fiscal policies".[45] Lagarde did not appear to understand that the factor that precipitated the financial crisis in Spain, Ireland, and other countries was the collapse of housing bubbles, not reckless government spending.[46][47][48][49] The point was emphasised by The Economist the week after her remarks were published:

This fiscal focus gets things exactly backwards. Spain's poor public finances, unlike those of Greece, are a symptom rather than the cause of the country's economic woes. Before the crisis Spain was well within the euro zone's fiscal rules. Even now its government debt, at around 70% of GDP, is lower than Germany's. As in Ireland, the origins of Spain's debt problems are private, not public.[50]

Her viewpoint appeared to remain unchanged in July 2012, as the Greek economy nosedived even more than expected and its leaders asked for clemency, Lagarde said she was "not in the negotiation or renegotiation mood at all."[51][52]

The Lagarde list [edit]

Main article: Lagarde list

In 2010 Lagarde, then financial minister of France, sent a list of 1991 names of Greek customers with bank accounts at HSBC's Geneva branch to the Greek government.[53]

On 28 October 2012, Greek reporter and editor Kostas Vaxevanis claimed to be in possession of the list and published a document with more than 2,000 names in his magazine Hot Doc.[54][55] He was immediately arrested on charges for breaching privacy laws with a possible sentence of up to two years in prison.[56] Three days later in trial Vaxevanis was found not guilty.[57]

Media [edit]

Lagarde was interviewed in the documentary film Inside Job (2010), which later won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.[citation needed]

The fashion magazine Vogue profiled Lagarde in September 2011.[19]

Lagarde was portrayed by actress Laila Robins in the 2011 HBO television drama Too Big to Fail, which was based on the popular book of the same name by New York Times journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin.[58]

Honours [edit]

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ "Le Nouvel Economiste". 
  2. ^ From Ralph Atkins, Andrew Whiffin and FT reporters. (16 October 2009). "FT ranking of EU finance ministers". Financial Times. Retrieved 2 January 2010. 
  3. ^ a b c "IMF Executive Board Selects Christine Lagarde as Managing Director". Press Release. IMF. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011. 
  4. ^ a b c "Lagarde wins IMF top job, presses Greece on crisis". Reuters. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2011. 
  5. ^ a b c d "Christine Lagarde named IMF chief". BBC News. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011. 
  6. ^ "IMF Managing Directors". IMF. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2011. 
  7. ^ « The 100 Most Powerful Women », forbes.com
  8. ^ a b Gala.fr: Christine Lagarde (french)
  9. ^ "La mujer que oculta acero tras la sonrisa" (in (Spanish)). El País. Retrieved 24 July 2011. 
  10. ^ a b "Is this the world's sexiest woman (and the most powerful)?". Retrieved 4 September 2012. 
  11. ^ a b "Christine Lagarde: the key facts". Daily Telegraph. 25 May 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2011. 
  12. ^ "Interview : Christine Lagarde, la face cachée d'une femme de pouvoir". Retrieved 6 September 2012. 
  13. ^ Shapira, Ian, "Christine Lagarde stirs wistful memories for friends in Holton Arms Class of ’74", Washington Post, 29 July 2011.
  14. ^ Christine Lagarde – Biographical Information
  15. ^ Christine Lagarde élue à la tête du CA de Sciences po Aix
  16. ^ www.dailymail.co.uk
  17. ^ Republique française: Biographie (french)
  18. ^ Paris Match: Xavier Giocanti, le mari de... Christine Lagarde 26. Juli 2010 (french)
  19. ^ a b c Johnson, Diane (September 2011). "Christine Lagarde: Changing of the Guard". Vogue. Retrieved 4 November 2011. 
  20. ^ Baker & McKenzie Firm History Baker & McKenzie Retrieved 8 December 2010
  21. ^ Global Players: Christine Lagarde
  22. ^ "Executive Profile Christine Lagarde Bloomberg Businessweek Retrieved 8 December 2010
  23. ^ "Christine Lagarde biography". Ministry of the Economy (France). Retrieved 2 March 2009. 
  24. ^ "Décret du 18 mai 2007 relatif à la composition du Gouvernement" (in (French)). Legifrance.gouv.fr. Retrieved 29 June 2011. 
  25. ^ "Décret du 19 juin 2007 relatif à la composition du Gouvernement" (in (French)). Legifrance.gouv.fr. Retrieved 29 June 2011. 
  26. ^ Christine Lagarde faces inquiry over payment to Sarkozy ally – the Guardian
  27. ^ "IMF chief Christine Lagarde key witness in Tapie case". Retrieved 24 May 2013. 
  28. ^ a b "IMF: US backs Christine Lagarde for top job". BBC News (London). 28 June 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2011. 
  29. ^ "Germany, Britain back Lagarde to lead IMF". Washington Post. 22 May 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2011. 
  30. ^ (French) "Soutiens européens à une candidature de Lagarde au FMI". Le Monde. 19 May 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2011. 
  31. ^ a b "Christine Lagarde announces IMF candidacy". BBC News. 25 May 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2011. 
  32. ^ "Lagarde suited to head IMF; India voted for her: Pranab". Moneycontrol India. Retrieved 26 May 2011.  Text "26 May 2011" ignored (help)
  33. ^ AP News AcessNorthGa.com: France's Lagarde launches bid for IMF leadership 25 May 2011
  34. ^ By Reuters. "France's Christine Lagarde wins IMF top job – Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News". Haaretz. Israel. Retrieved 29 June 2011. 
  35. ^ "As IMF's New Chief, Will Lagarde 'Keep Smiling'?". PBS NewsHour. 29 June 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2011. 
  36. ^ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45786696/ns/business-stocks_and_economy/
  37. ^ Aitkenhead, Decca (25 May 2012). "Christine Lagarde: can the head of the IMF save the euro?". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 31 May 2012. 
  38. ^ Elliott, Larry; Aitkenhead, Decca (25 May 2012). "It's payback time: don't expect sympathy – Lagarde to Greeks". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 28 May 2012. 
  39. ^ a b Osborne, Alistair (27 May 2012). "Irate Greeks vilify IMF chief on Facebook after she brands them tax dodgers". The Sunday Telegraph. Retrieved 28 May 2012. 
  40. ^ "Democracy in action". The Economist (2 June 2012). Retrieved 2 June 2012. 
  41. ^ "Update of 26 May 2012, 09:43". Lagarde's Facebook page. Retrieved 31 May 2012. 
  42. ^ Weeks, John (27 May 2012). "Letters: IMF boss is in no position to preach". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 28 May 2012. 
  43. ^ "Report for Selected Countries and Subjects: Ireland and Spain: General government balance". World Economic Outlook Database: April 2009 Edition. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 30 May 2012. 
  44. ^ "Spanish in strong budget surplus". BBC News. 21 February 2008. Retrieved 28 May 2012. 
  45. ^ Evans-Pritchard, Ambrose (27 May 2012). "Europe's Maquina Infernal has crippled Spain". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 28 May 2012. 
  46. ^ Reinhart, Carmen M; Rogoff, Kenneth S (2009). This Time is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. 160 (see table 10.8). ISBN 978-0-691-14216-6. 
  47. ^ Roman, David (15 March 2012). "Spanish House Prices Tumble". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 28 May 2012. "Raj Badiani, an economist at IHS Global Insight, said government data indicates Spanish house prices are down more than 20% from the 2007–2008 peak, even though other evidence points to a possible drop of more than 30%." 
  48. ^ Smyth, Jamie (25 May 2012). "Mortgage crisis escalates in Ireland". FT.com. Retrieved 31 May 2012. "Between 1997 and 2007, Irish property prices quadrupled—the biggest increase recorded by any European country. The subsequent collapse of the market, which included price falls of up to 60 per cent in Dublin, has left several hundred thousand homeowners in negative equity." 
  49. ^ Hammond, Ed; Smyth, Jamie (27 May 2012). "Foreign investors shun Irish property market". FT.com. Retrieved 31 May 2012. "Commercial property values, which fell for 15 consecutive quarters before a slight rebound at the start of this year, are 65 per cent below the peak of the market in September 2007." 
  50. ^ Editorial. "How to save Spain". The Economist (2 June 2012). Retrieved 2 June 2012. 
  51. ^ "Greece seeks more time to meet bailout terms". Al Arabiya News. AFP. 7 July 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2012. 
  52. ^ Paris, Coastas; Granitsas, Alkman (4 July 2012). "Greece's Creditors to Take Tough Line". WSJ.com. Retrieved 6 July 2012. 
  53. ^ "The Controversial 'Lagarde List' Has Leaked, And It's Bad News For The Greek Prime Minister". Retrieved 28 October 2012. 
  54. ^ "Greece arrests journalist over 'Lagarde List' banks leak". BBC. Retrieved 28 October 2012. 
  55. ^ Julian Borger (28 October 2012). "Greek magazine editor in court for naming alleged tax evaders". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 October 2012. 
  56. ^ "Greek officials accused of persecution as 'Lagarde List' journalist appears in court". The Telegraph. 30 October 2012. 
  57. ^ "Greek journalist Kostas Vaxevanis acquitted in trial for naming alleged tax cheats (UPDATE)". Global Post. 1 November 2012. 
  58. ^ Nikki Schwab; Katy Adams (29 June 2011). "New IMF chief portrayed in HBO's 'Too Big To Fail'". Washington Examiner. Retrieved 29 June 2011. 
  59. ^ "KU Leuven awards honorary doctorate to Christine Lagarde". KU Leuven. 29 October 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2012.

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Christine Lagarde
Political offices
Preceded by
Christian Jacob		 Minister of Commerce and Industry
2005–2007		 Position abolished
Preceded by
Dominique Bussereau		 Minister of Agriculture
2007		 Succeeded by
Michel Barnier
Preceded by
Jean-Louis Borloo		 Minister of Finance
2007–2011		 Succeeded by
François Baroin
Business positions
Preceded by
John Lipsky (acting)		 Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund
2011–present		 Incumbent
First Fillon Cabinet
Coat of Arms of France
Authority control
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