Christine Madeleine Lagarde (born 1 January 1956) is a French lawyer and the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) since July 5, 2011.

Previously, she held various ministerial posts in the French government: She was Minister of Economic Affairs, Finances and Industry and before that, Minister of Agriculture and Fishing and Minister of Trade in the government of Dominique de Villepin.

Lagarde was the first woman ever to become Minister of Economic Affairs of a G8 economy, and is the first woman to head the IMF.

Lagarde was born in Paris as Christine Madeleine Odette Lallouette into a family of academics. Her father Robert Lallouette was a Professor of English at the Faculty of Rouen; her mother Nicole worked as a teacher.

She graduated from law school at University Paris X in France, and later pursued a Master’s Degree in Politics.

In May 2011, Lagarde was nominated as a possible successor of Dominique Strauss-Kahn as Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund. Her candidacy received the support of the United States, Russia, China, Britain, German and India governments.

Forbes Magazine ranked her as the ninth most powerful woman in the world for 2011.

She is divorced and has two sons. Since 2006, her partner has been the entrepreneur Xavier Giocanti from Marseille. She is also a vegetarian and never drinks alcohol. Her hobbies are yoga, scuba diving, swimming and gardening.

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