Christine Lagarde - Biographical Information

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Born in Paris in 1956.
Completed high school in Le Havre and attended Holton-Arms School in Bethesda (Maryland, USA).
Graduated from law school at University Paris X.
Obtained a Master’s degree from the Political Science Institute in Aix-en-Provence.
A former member of the French national team for synchronized swimming.
Mother of two sons.

Admitted as a lawyer to the Paris Bar.
Joined the international law firm Baker McKenzie as an associate, specializing in Labor, Anti-trust, and Mergers & Acquisitions.
Member of the Executive Committee of Baker McKenzie in 1995.
Chairman of the Global Executive Committee of Baker McKenzie in 1999.
Chairman of the Global Strategic Committee of Baker McKenzie in 2004.

Joined the French government in June 2005 as Minister for Foreign Trade.
Served a brief stint as Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries.
In June 2007 became the first woman to hold the post of Finance and Economy Minister of a G-7 country.
From July to December 2008 chaired the ECOFIN Council, helping foster international policies related to financial supervision, regulation, and strengthening global economic governance.
As Chairman of the G-20 when France took over its presidency for the year 2011, set in motion a wide-ranging work agenda on the reform of the international monetary system.

Became the eleventh Managing Director of the IMF on July 5, 2011, and was the first woman to hold that position.
Elected to a second term, which started on July 5, 2016.
Resigned from the IMF with effect from September 12, 2019, in light of her nomination as President of the European Central Bank.
Following her resignation, First Deputy Managing Director David Lipton served as Acting Managing Director of the IMF.