Christine Lagarde facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Christine Lagarde
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Lagarde in 2020
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| President of the European Central Bank | |
| Assumed office 1 November 2019 |
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| Vice President | Luis de Guindos |
| Preceded by | Mario Draghi |
| Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund | |
| In office 5 July 2011 – 12 September 2019 |
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| Deputy |
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| Preceded by | Dominique Strauss-Kahn |
| Succeeded by | Kristalina Georgieva |
| Minister of Economics, Finance and Industry | |
| In office 19 June 2007 – 29 June 2011 |
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| Prime Minister | François Fillon |
| Preceded by | Jean-Louis Borloo |
| Succeeded by | François Baroin |
| Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries | |
| In office 18 May 2007 – 18 June 2007 |
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| Prime Minister | François Fillon |
| Preceded by | Dominique Bussereau |
| Succeeded by | Michel Barnier |
| Minister for Foreign Trade | |
| In office 2 June 2005 – 15 May 2007 |
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| Prime Minister | Dominique de Villepin |
| Preceded by | François Loos |
| Succeeded by | Hervé Novelli |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Christine Madeleine Odette Lallouette
1 January 1956 9th arrondissement of Paris, France |
| Political party | Union for a Popular Movement (2007–2011) |
| Other political affiliations |
European People's Party |
| Spouse |
Wilfried Lagarde
(m. 1982; div. 1992) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Paris Nanterre University Sciences Po Aix |
| Signature |  |
Christine Lagarde (born 1 January 1956) is a French politician and lawyer. She has been the President of the European Central Bank (ECB) since 2019. Before that, she was the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 2011 to 2019. She also served as a minister in the Government of France, including as Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industry from 2007 to 2011. Christine Lagarde is the first woman to hold each of these important jobs.
Born in Paris, France, Lagarde studied law at Paris Nanterre University. She also earned a master's degree from Sciences Po Aix. After becoming a lawyer, she joined a big international law firm called Baker & McKenzie in 1981. She became an expert in areas like labor law. She quickly moved up in the firm, becoming the first woman to lead its executive committee. Later, she became the first woman to be the firm's Chair from 1999 to 2004. After this, she decided to work for the government.
Lagarde returned to France and became the Minister of Foreign Trade from 2005 to 2007. She then briefly served as Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries in 2007. Finally, she became the Minister of Finance from 2007 to 2011. This made her the first woman to be a finance minister in any of the Group of Eight major economies. During her time as Finance Minister, she helped France deal with the 2007–2008 financial crisis. The Financial Times newspaper even called her the best finance minister in the Eurozone.
On 5 July 2011, she was chosen to lead the IMF. She was the only candidate nominated for a second five-year term in 2016. Lagarde left the IMF when she was chosen to be the president of the ECB. Forbes magazine has ranked her as one of the world's most powerful women several times.
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Early Life and Education
Christine Lagarde was born in Paris, France. Her parents were both teachers. Her father, Robert Lallouette, taught English. Her mother, Nicole (Carré), taught Latin, Greek, and French literature. Christine and her three younger brothers grew up in Le Havre. She went to Lycée François 1er and Lycée Claude Monet there.
As a teenager, Lagarde was part of the French national synchronised swimming team. After finishing high school in 1973, she received a scholarship to study in the United States. She attended the Holton-Arms School in Bethesda, Maryland. During her year in the U.S., she worked as an intern at the U.S. Capitol. She helped Representative William Cohen with his work during the Watergate hearings. She earned master's degrees in English, labor law, and social law from Paris Nanterre University. She also has a master's degree from Sciences Po Aix in Aix-en-Provence.
Professional Career
In 1981, Lagarde joined Baker & McKenzie, a large international law firm based in Chicago. She worked on important cases related to business competition and labor laws. After six years, she became a partner. She was then named the head of the firm in Western Europe. In 1995, she joined the executive committee. In October 1999, she was elected the firm's first female chairman. She was reelected three years later. At Baker & McKenzie, Lagarde focused on putting clients first. This meant lawyers tried to understand what clients needed even before they asked.
In 2004, Lagarde became the president of the Global Strategic Committee at the firm.
Ministerial Career
As France's trade minister from 2005 to May 2007, Lagarde worked to open new markets for French products. She especially focused on technology. On 18 May 2007, she became the Minister of Agriculture. The next month, she joined the cabinet as the Minister of Economic Affairs, Finance and Employment. In government, she introduced economic changes. These included making the job market more flexible and lowering taxes on inherited property. She also worked on a plan to reduce government spending.
International Monetary Fund
Becoming the Head
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On 25 May 2011, Lagarde announced she wanted to become the head of the IMF. Many countries supported her, including the United States, Germany, and China. Another candidate was Agustín Carstens, the governor of the Bank of Mexico.
On 28 June 2011, the IMF board chose Lagarde as its next managing director. Her five-year term began on 5 July 2011. The IMF's board said both candidates were very qualified. Lagarde became the first woman to lead the IMF. Her appointment happened during a difficult time for Europe's economy, especially in Greece. The United States wanted her to be appointed quickly because of Europe's economic problems.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Lagarde's "exceptional talent" would help the IMF at a critical time. President Nicolas Sarkozy called her appointment "a victory for France."
On 17 December 2015, the French Finance Minister said Lagarde could stay as head of the IMF. She was re-elected for a second five-year term starting 5 July 2016. On 2 July 2019, Lagarde was nominated to become the next president of the ECB. She then resigned from her role at the IMF.
Her Ideas
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In July 2010, Lagarde explained that the IMF's plan to lend money to struggling European countries was a very big and unexpected step. She said they had a lot of money ready to help any country in the eurozone that faced financial problems. For the French economy, she said they needed to cut their deficit and reduce their debt.
After she became the head of the IMF, Lagarde said that Greece needed to make tough economic changes to get more help. She asked Greek politicians to work together. On 25 December 2011, Lagarde warned that the world economy was at risk. She urged European countries to unite to solve their debt problems.
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In July 2012, as the Greek economy continued to struggle, Lagarde said she was not ready to change the terms of their financial help. However, a year later, the IMF admitted its plan for Greece had not been enough. Lagarde then decided that Greece would not recover unless a significant part of its debt was removed. In 2016, the IMF refused to give more emergency money to Greece. This was because there were no clear plans to reduce Greece's debt.
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When asked about her economic beliefs, Lagarde said she was a "liberal," like Adam Smith.
European Central Bank
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Nomination
On 2 July 2019, Christine Lagarde was chosen by the European Council to become the next President of the European Central Bank (ECB). She took office on 1 November 2019. On 17 September 2019, the European Parliament voted to recommend her for the position.
Experts believed that as president, Lagarde would continue the ECB's current money policies. She also said she wanted the ECB to help fight climate change. She planned to review the ECB's overall money policy. Some people worried that she supported too much government spending. Others felt her strength was her ability to be flexible and act as a diplomat.
In Post
One of Lagarde's first big projects at the ECB was to start a major review of its strategy. This had not been done for 17 years. As part of this review, she successfully pushed the ECB to create a plan to address climate change. This plan led to new "green rules" for buying company bonds.
In July 2024, Lagarde said that EU governments needed to follow new rules to reduce their budget deficits and debts. She mentioned that countries like Belgium, Greece, Spain, France, and Italy were at "high risk." She stressed that respecting EU budget rules and making economic changes were important for Europe to stay strong.
In September 2024, Lagarde announced that the ECB's main interest rate would be lowered to 3.5%. This was because economic growth in the eurozone was weak and inflation had dropped. She also stated that the ECB would not help individual countries with their specific economic changes. She said that was the job of governments, not the central bank.
Other Activities
Christine Lagarde has been involved with many important organizations:
European Union Institutions
- European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB), Chair (since 2019)
- European Investment Bank (EIB), member of the board (2007–2011)
International Organizations
- Bank for International Settlements (BIS), member of the board (since 2019)
- Asian Development Bank (ADB), member of the board (2007–2011)
- European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), member of the board (2007–2011)
- International Monetary Fund (IMF), member of the board (2007–2011)
- World Bank, member of the board (2007–2011)
Non-profit Organizations
- World Economic Forum (WEF), member of the board of trustees (since 2011)
Academic Institutions
- Honorary fellow of Robinson College, Cambridge
Media
Lagarde was interviewed in the documentary film Inside Job (2010). This film later won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
The American fashion magazine Vogue wrote about Lagarde in September 2011.
Lagarde was played by Laila Robins in the HBO television film Too Big to Fail (2011). This movie was based on a popular book about the financial crisis.
The actress Meryl Streep used parts of Lagarde's style for her character Miranda Priestly in the movie The Devil Wears Prada (2006). Streep mentioned Lagarde's "unassailable elegance and authority."
In 2014, Lagarde gave the Richard Dimbleby Lecture, titled "A New Multilateralism for the 21st Century."
Recognition
Christine Lagarde has received many honors and awards for her work.
Awards
- 2011 – Named 9th Most Powerful Woman in the World by Forbes magazine
- 2012 – 8th Most Powerful Woman in the World
- 2013 – 7th Most Powerful Woman in the World
- 2014 – 5th Most Powerful Woman in the World
- 2015 – 6th Most Powerful Woman in the World
- 2016 – 6th Most Powerful Woman in the World
- 2017 – 8th Most Powerful Woman in the World
- 2017 – #1 in the List of 100 Most Influential People in Multinational Organisations by Richtopia
- 2018 – 3rd Most Powerful Woman in the World
- 2019 – CARE Humanitarian Award
- 2019 – Distinguished International Leadership Award from the Atlantic Council
- 2019 – 2nd Most Powerful Woman in the World
- 2020 – 2nd Most Powerful Woman in the World
- 2022 – 2nd Most Powerful Woman in the World
- 2023 – 2nd Most Powerful Woman in the World
Honours
Officer of the Légion d'honneur (2012; Chevalier in 2000)
Commander of the National Order of Merit (2021)
Commander of the Order of Mérite agricole (2008)
Commander of the Ordre du Mérite Maritime (2007)
Grand Officer of the National Order of the Ivory Coast (2013)
Medal of the Order of Friendship (2010)
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Honorary Doctorate
- Honorary doctorate from KU Leuven (Belgium)
- Honorary doctorate from Université de Montréal.
Personal Life
Lagarde has been in three long-term relationships. She married Wilfried Lagarde in 1982 and they divorced in 1992. They have two sons, Pierre-Henri (born 1986) and Thomas (born 1988). Since 2006, she has been in a relationship with French entrepreneur Xavier Giocanti.
She is a vegetarian and enjoys staying healthy. Her hobbies include going to the gym, cycling, and swimming.
She speaks French, English, and Spanish. After becoming president of the European Central Bank, she planned to learn German.
Images for kids
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Christine Lagarde's signature
See also
In Spanish: Christine Lagarde para niños
