Christine Lagarde The New IMF Boss

                                                   Christine Lagarde
The first woman to be elected as the President of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Christine Lagarde

She will battle  inherited challenges and must tackle it if she must succeed. These range from the euro debt crisis, slow global economic recovery and tainted image of the IMF due to the inglorious exit of her predecessor, Mr Struass-Khan, who had to resign over his arrest and charges of sexual assault in New York.

Born on 1 January 1956  in Paris as Christine Madeleine Odette Lallouette to academic parents, Lagarde was previously the Minister of Economic Affairs, Finances and Industry of France, appointed by President Nicolas Sarkozy in June 2007. She was previously 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. As French Finance Minister since 2007, she oversaw a softening of the 35-hour working week introduced by the Left by removing taxes on overtime. She attracted criticism early in her tenure by suggesting that the French had become work-shy and that navel-gazing hindered reform.
A noted antitrust and labour lawyer, Lagarde also 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. In 2009, Lagarde was ranked the 17th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine.
Yesterday,  the Executive Board of the IMF, elected and chose Lagarde ahead of the  Mexican central bank governor Agustin Carstens, as the President of the Fund for a five year term starting on July 5th 2011. “The Executive Board agreed that both were well qualified candidates and the objective was to select one 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 Executive Board looks forward to Ms. Lagarde effectively leading the International Monetary Fund as its next Managing Director.”The Fund said in a statement.
Challenges and Success factors
Lagarde’s  effectiveness as IMF Chief is hinged on  factors including her personality, experience, background and the dynamics of the challenges confronting the Fund.
For example, her  determination as a negotiator and experience working on the euro zone debt crisis are likely to ensure she settles smoothly into leadership of the International Monetary Fund, as the global lender faces some of the toughest economic challenges in its history.
Also, her charisma and expertise in international relations which she built up as French Finance Minister will carry weight with governments around the world as she replaces the disgraced Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
Supporters say Lagarde, the first woman to head the IMF, will have the political muscle to press indebted euro zone states into delivering on promised budget reforms.
Yet her lack of the highbrow academic credentials as an economist that Strauss-Kahn brought to the Fund, and the likelihood that she will continue the same conservative policies which have so far failed to resolve the euro zone’s crisis, are a concern to some.
She has a reputation for sealing deals under pressure — during talks among the G20 nations in February she brought China  into a compromise deal on ways to measure economic imbalances. She proved her negotiating stamina a decade ago as the first female chairman of U.S. law firm Baker & McKenzie.
Her easy charm and fluent English mean she is often rated in media polls as one of the world’s most influential women, and is one of the most popular political figures in France .
Among her key challenges will be pushing world leaders to do more to reduce trade deficits and other imbalances in the global economy . She has said that as IMF chief, she will enhance the Fund’s responsiveness to the needs of poor countries and step up its surveillance of economies to try and ward off future crises.
While she has vowed to give China and other emerging powers a larger role at the IMF, Lagarde may find herself caught between emerging nations demanding greater voting rights and European governments reluctant to give them more weight.
Her chief rival for the job, Mexican Central Bank Governor Agustin Carstens, could not only boast more economic expertise and experience of working at the IMF, but he answered the concern of emerging nations over Europe’s refusal to relinquish its dominance in voting rights and its grip on the top IMF job.
Candid and Tough
Lagarde has said that as IMF chief, she will be candid and tough in her discussions with European leaders on the euro zone crisis.
“There is no room for benevolence when tough choices must be made, and there is no option that does not start with difficult but necessary adjustments by the Greek authorities to restore the sustainability of public finances and to rebuild the country’s competitiveness,” she said.
She played a key role in crafting Europe’s response to the global credit crisis in 2009 and in putting together last year’s 110 billion euro bailout of Greece  by the European Union and the IMF.
To critics, though, the strategy of the EU and the IMF in keeping Athens afloat with emergency loans, will refraining from more radical action such as a restructuring of Greek debt, has merely prolonged the country’s debt crisis and pushed Greece deeper into recession.
As IMF head, Lagarde will need to represent the Fund’s shareholders around the world in approaching the euro zone crisis, and it is not clear how long all of them will be content with channelling more money to Greece. It is also not yet clear how neutral she can be as a Frenchwoman in a crisis to which French banks and the French government are heavily exposed.