## Christine Lagarde - Biographical Information

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**Canonical URL:** [Christine Lagarde - Biographical Information](https://www.imf.org/en/about/senior-officials/archive/christine-lagarde)

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## Bibliographic details
- Published: February 26, 2016

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### Personal background and education
- 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.

### Legal and private-sector career
- 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.

### Public service and government roles
- 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.

### International Monetary Fund tenure
- 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.

### Honors
- Named Officier in the Légion d'honneur in April 2012.

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## References

- [Statement by the Executive Board of the IMF on the Nomination of Managing Director Christine Lagarde as President of the European Central Bank](https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2019/07/02/pr19262-statement-executive-board-nomination-managing-director-christine-lagarde-president-ecb)
- [Senior Officials of the International Monetary Fund](https://www.imf.org/en/about/senior-officials)
- [her nomination as President of the European Central Bank](https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2019/07/02/pr19261-statement-imf-managing-director-christine-lagarde-on-nomination-as-president-of-ecb)

_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/about/senior-officials/archive/christine-lagarde_