Lagarde resigns as head of IMF

Washington: Following Christine Lagarde’s formal resignation from IMF, the Fund’s Executive Board has said it will initiate promptly the process of selecting the next Managing Director.
Lagarde on Tuesday announced that she formally submitted her resignation from the IMF position with effect from September 12, 2019, Xinhua reported.
Two weeks ago, Lagarde was nominated for the presidency of the European Central Bank (ECB), as part of the European Union (EU) leaders’ agreement on the future leadership of top EU institutions. She then decided to temporarily step down from the IMF leadership during the nomination period.
The position of IMF chief has always been held by Europeans while the head of the World Bank has traditionally been American, an informal arrangement that has stayed in place for over seven decades.
David Lipton, first Deputy Managing Director of the IMF, has served as Acting Managing Director of the multilateral lender following Lagarde’s nomination. The Executive Board said it has the “utmost confidence” in Lipton, who remains acting managing director in the interim period.
Lagarde, a 63-year-old French national, would be the first woman to lead the ECB. She is set to replace Mario Draghi, whose eight-year term ends on October 31.
On July 5, 2011, Lagarde became the 11th managing director of the IMF, and the first woman to hold this position. She was elected to a second five-year term as the IMF managing director, which started on July 5, 2016. Prior to joining the IMF, Lagarde served as France’s finance minister from 2007 to 2011. (IANS)