Lagarde Re-Upped

For the past five years, Christine Lagarde’s face has been splashed across the media above headlines pertaining to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Lagarde has been one of the most visible leaders of an international economic organization in recent history, and the leadership of the IMF has noticed. As a result, Lagarde has been nominated to serve a second five-year term as the head of the International Monetary Fund.

The IMF is a made up of 188 member countries, and carries the mandate of ensuring the stability of the world’s monetary system. It does this via a system of exchange rates, loans, and international payments. These systems allow countries around the world to smoothly transact business with one another. To be sure, this is not an easy task.

Lagarde’s illustrious background includes serving as the French Finance Minister before becoming the first female director of the IMF in 2011. She was the only person nominated for the role of IMF chief this term. Observers have pointed out that Lagarde’s charisma, strong leadership, and intelligent choices, both politically and as a matter of policy, meant that there were no other obvious choices to fill the position.

Lagarde, now 60, has done a supreme job of unifying otherwise contentious factions behind her work and her vision for the IMF. Her nomination for a second term was supported by a broad cross-section of the world’s various economies, including the UK, Germany, China, and France.

According to Aleksei Mozhin, Dean of the IMF’s executive board, “The period for submitting nominations for the position of the next Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund closed on Wednesday, February 10 … One candidate, current managing director Christine Lagarde, has been nominated.” He went on to explain that the board’s goal is to complete the selection process as soon as possible to ensure the IMF’s business continues smoothly and without interruption.

Lagarde’s current term as Managing Director ends July 5, 2016. She had already announced her intention to seek a second term in January of this year, but few expected her to receive the nomination completely unopposed.

Despite the IMF’s approval, Lagarde still faces criticism in her home nation. Lagarde was recently asked to stand trial in her native country of France for alleged acts of negligence pertaining to a 2008 payment made to businessman, Bernard Tapie. Lagarde’s attorney called the decision to make her stand trial “incomprehensible” and noted that she would appeal.

Lagarde