French Finance Minister Could Be Next IMF Chief

Christine Lagarde has the backing of Britain, France, and Germany as the IMF ponders a replacement for Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

France's current finance minister is fast becoming Europe's consensus candidate to replace former French finance minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn as the managing director of the International Monetary Fund. Christine Lagarde is widely viewed as Strauss-Kahn's likely successor due to her competence in handling France's response to the 2008 financial crisis. The head of the IMF has traditionally been European, while the chief of the World Bank is typically American, but developing and newly industrialized countries such as Brazil, China, and India are urging the IMF to select someone from outside Europe. Strauss-Kahn resigned last week amid criminal charges of sexual assault, attempted rape, and unlawful confinement stemming from an alleged incident with a chambermaid at a luxury hotel in New York.