She was the first female IMF head, then the first female European Central Bank President: who is Christine Lagarde?

Summary of her life: Christine Lagarde, whose real name is Christine Lallouette, was born in 1956 in Paris Ninth to a Catholic family.

Working as a lawyer, businessperson, and politician, Christine Lagarde was also a long-time member of the French national team in synchronized swimming.

After working at an American international law firm, Lagarde was Assistant Secretary of Foreign Trade in the Villepin government from 2005 to 2007. She later became Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries in the Fillon government in 2007. From June 2007 to 2011 she was the Minister of Economy and Finance.

She became the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2011 as the first female president. She resigned from her post as head of the IMF in July 2019 to become the head of the European Central Bank.

A name accustomed to firsts

When Lagarde became the head of the IMF, she was the first woman to hold this post.

After graduating from law school at Paris X University, Lagarde earned a master's degree in political science.

After being accepted to the Paris Bar Association as a lawyer, she went to the USA in 1981 and started working at the international law firm Baker McKenzie.

Specializing in employment, monopoly, mergers, and acquisitions, Lagarde was first elected to the board of directors of the company she worked for, and then became the head of the company's global board in 1999. She was the first woman to take on this task as well.

In 2004, she became the head of the company's global strategy commission.

Lagarde's first post in the French government was as Minister of Commerce in 2005.

After serving as the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries for a short time, she became the first woman to be Minister of Finance and Finance in a G7 country in 2007.

In December 2008 she became president of the European Union's Economic and Financial Affairs Council.

Lagarde, who took over the executive task of this group after France assumed the leadership of the G20, took important steps to reform the international monetary system during these duties.

Lagarde, who was elected as the head of the IMF in 2011, assumed this task again in 2016.

Lagarde, who is the owner of the "Legion d'honneur", the most important medal given by the French state, also previously competed in the French national synchronized swimming team.

Lagarde is the mother of two boys.

She blamed the 'testosterone-loaded' mentality for the crisis

She attributed the global economic crisis in 2008 to the male-dominated and 'testosterone-laden' understanding seen in banks around the world.

She gained recognition for her good management during the crisis, as she assumed her post at the IMF in 2011.

It is widely believed that Lagarde put up a good fight, especially in terms of providing financial aid to Greece as a result of the crisis.

Before assuming her post at the IMF, she was named the best finance minister in Europe in 2009 in a poll by the Financial Times.

Lagarde is also a respected name in the international community for her strong voice and outspokenness.

Found guilty in 2016

On the other hand, Lagarde was found guilty in 2016 on the grounds that she "failed to subject the 400 million euro payment to the famous businessman Bernard Tapie to the necessary investigation" while she was the finance minister in her country, France.

However, in the case of Paris, the court did not give Lagarde any fines or prison sentences.

The lawsuit stemmed from a dispute between state bank Credit Lyonnais and businessman Bernard Tapie over the sale of Adidas AG in 1993.

The dispute was settled after the state paid 400m euros to Bernard Tapie in 2008.

Lagarde, who served as finance minister under President Sarkozy during this period, was found guilty of negligence on the grounds that she "did not make the necessary investigations" and "did not object to the large payment made".

The IMF has decided that Lagarde should continue as chairman.

Christine Madeleine Odette Lagarde has been serving as the President of the European Central Bank since 1 November 2019.

European leaders meeting in Brussels officially appointed former International Monetary Fund (IMF) Director Christine Lagarde to head the European Central Bank.

French Christine Lagarde, who is expected to continue her new position for eight years, took the seat vacated by Italian Mario Draghi on 1 November 2019.

The European Central Bank, which is responsible for managing the monetary policy of 19 countries in the Euro Zone, is headed by a woman for the first time. Established in 1998 in Frankfurt, the main task of the European Central Bank is to maintain price stability in the Eurozone.