Christine Lagarde

Christine Madeleine Odette Lagarde is a French politician, economist and lawyer serving as President of the European Central Bank, since 1 November 2019. Prior to this appointment and between July 2011 and September 2019, she served as Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund. Lagarde previously held various senior ministerial posts in the Government of France : she was Minister of Foreign Trade (2005–2007), Minister of Agriculture and Fishing (2007) and Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industry (2007–2011). Lagarde was the first woman to become finance minister of a G8 economy and is the first woman to head both the ECB and the IMF. A noted antitrust and labour lawyer, Lagarde was the first female Chair of major international law firm Baker & McKenzie, between 1999 and 2004. On 16 November 2009, the Financial Times ranked her the best finance minister in the Eurozone.