Christine Lagarde wins top spot at IMF
Almost 48,000 ONE members signed our petition urging the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to run an open, transparent and merit-based process for their top position — but now the results are in. This week, the IMF’s executive board announced that they have chosen Christine Lagarde of France to succeed Dominique Strauss-Kahn as the managing director of the IMF.
As the IMF’s first female managing director, Ms. Lagarde will have one of the most powerful positions in global finance. She will be in charge of working with the IMF’s member nations to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability and reduce poverty around the world, among other things. Her candidacy has won the support of several key African nations, including the Ivory Coast and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Before coming to the IMF, Ms. Lagarde was the finance minister of France, one of Europe’s most powerful economies, and has been at the forefront of containing Europe’s debt crisis. This experience will serve her well, as she’ll be expected to guide the IMF through these tough economic times at the same level as her predecessor.
“I will make it my overriding goal that our institution continues to serve its entire membership with the same focus and the same spirit,” she said in her first official IMF statement. “As I have had the opportunity to say to the IMF Board during the selection process, the IMF must be relevant, responsive, effective, and legitimate, to achieve stronger and sustainable growth, macroeconomic stability, and a better future for all.”
And when she says “future for all,” she also means Africa — which we were very pleased to hear. In her statement to the IMF board as a candidate, she said that one of the IMF’s key guiding factors should be to enhance its responsiveness to the needs of low-income countries, especially those in Africa.
She has also made it known that the IMF should strive to be even more diverse. “There should be appropriate and proportionate representation at staff level to express and respect both diversity and universality,” she said during her candidacy.
We welcome Ms. Lagarde for her efforts to fight global poverty — but she should know that we’ll be watching her to make sure that she keeps the promises she made to Africa, diversity and the world’s poorest people.
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04/07/2011 at 1:28 pm
I live in Ireland, and was born and reared here. Am now in my sixties, and unfortunately or otherwise, have very little faith in any financial institutions worldwide. Most of what I have seen so far have been lies, broken promises, and downright ‘legal’ fraud…I sincerely hope and pray, that Ms. Lagarde and her team can do some good, and right so many wrongs, that the wealthy and powerful, have perpetrated on Mother Earth, and her children since time began.
I live in hope…Always…
04/07/2011 at 3:53 pm
I live in Tanzania, East Africa, in so called developing country, in poor countries like mine i’m not sure if institutions like these have any meaning, its a good thing that a woman final has a chance, i’m happy about it, I know no body bother to think about Africa, Especially when you even dont have oil, its the truth what ever i like or not, Goodluck Lagarde,we are here in Africa trying to solve our problems.
05/07/2011 at 3:05 am
I live in Nigeria, West Africa, What makes Me so so surprise is the reason why some human beings are so so selfish,greedy and full of financial lust and Have forgetten when they were delivered from their mothers womb, they came out Naked and Vice-Versa When they Die. I Pray with sincerity of heart that this Madam would Cause a profounding Positive Change.
05/07/2011 at 5:01 am
Malaka; Please forward the comments above to the IMF. I am sure that ONE has relationships there. Ms. Lagarde would benefit from hearing what our members have to say. Thanks.
05/07/2011 at 7:41 am
I welcome Ms Lagarde to her new position. Writing from Nigeria. Nigeria is one of the corrupt African nations. There are Nigerians who can join together and offset Nigeria debt. May I request that IMF assist African to check these corrupt individuals?
05/07/2011 at 8:43 am
I live in Lesotho right in the heart of Africa and its economic challenges. I am greatly pleased with the choice of Ms Christine Largarde as the IMF Chief due to her vast experience and rain as Finance Minister of one of the powerful and influencial countries in the world as well as her promises especially towards the plight of Africa. I urge all mebers of One International to support her but at the same time to hold her accountable to her promises which have set a policy direction especially towards putting Africa on the better future of which its low income status will be overcome.
05/07/2011 at 9:07 am
Welcome Lagarde, May the Lord God guide you in your new position to figth our corrupt leaders in Africa and hold them all accoutable for money they are given. Alfred from Uganda in East Africa, am so happy this time it is a lady.
05/07/2011 at 10:31 am
Good to see the appointment of someone who brings a positive message. Her statements on treating all equally without discrimination are very welcome. To achieve positive results, two fundamentals will be:
- a willingness to listen to developing countries about their issues rather than hear about them from others
- an ability to promote true partnership between the ‘developing’ and ‘developed’ nations to work together rather than sustain historical “us and them” attitudes which have prevailed within international institutions
05/07/2011 at 1:20 pm
am chinomso mailing from west africa nigeria pls as you all know my country is one of the rich country in the world but we the masses are crying every day and hopeing for a better day of which we dont get.pls help us over here
05/07/2011 at 2:58 pm
I think the time has come to see what a woman can achieve. I sincerely hope that she can achieve all that she has promised. Our world needs us all. There is far too much economic diversity in the world, there is too much corruption, greedy individuals who take bribes from the poor in order to live their lives. Here’s to Ms. Lagarde and hoping with all my heart she can make the difference sho obviously hopes to make.
05/07/2011 at 3:06 pm
Congratulations to the new IMF Chief, you make us really proud. In the same manner that you have achieved this position we are hoping that you will stand firm in championing the causes of Africa. With poverty, corruption and genocide rife in our mother continent, we strongly hope that you will assist Africa in putting an end to some of these scourges. Africa is rich in resources and its about time that we are known by the richness of our resources and not the richness of the scourges that plague us. We also would like to see an end to the plundering of our resources by both African leaders and the so-called investors alike. All the best in your new position. Patricia from Zimbabwe.
05/07/2011 at 5:19 pm
I’ll believe the promise of actually helping countries other than the usual list of economic colonialists when I see it.
While I’m glad a woman is getting this post for the first time the fact that the election process was once more undemocratic is the real issue here. If they’re not willing to change that it’s hard to believe they would pick someone who will address the other fundamental problems of institutions like the IMF.
05/07/2011 at 8:49 pm
I am so happy to see a woman at the head of such a major institution and am touched by the many persons from Africa expressing their hopes in her. It is very sad indeed that all of them are talking about corruption and genocide,is it just Africa which is plagued with it? Have conscience and principles disappearfed from this particular continent, and why? Poverty is more than enough, but perhaps it is the fear of poverty that makes some of its leaders so avid of wealth?
Yet many are rich in these countries and many want to give and help, but perhaps what needs to be organized is how to help.
If this clever lady can find a way of undertaking such an organization, then she can achieve a lot .
I wish her great success in her endeavour and we who live also in the Middle East that northern part of Africa would like to encourage her and cooperate with Africa south of the Sahara to help the people of this continent to become able to help themselves and rise above poverety and corruption.
06/07/2011 at 9:28 pm
Salut, je vis à Douala au Cameroun berceau de nos ancêtres et poumon économique de l’Afrique Centrale. Tout ce que je peux solliciter auprès du nouveau boss du FMI est tel qu’il faut réorganiser et restructurer tous les secteurs d’activité en Afrique en annulant premièrement toutes les dettes, en accordant aux africains leur extrême indépendance économique par la création de leur propre monnaie, l’auto exploitation de leur propre Port Autonome, de leur propre Bois de forêt, de leur Pétrole, Uranium, Coton, Cacao-Café, de leurs propres ressources en sol et en sous sol afin de permettre aux africains d’éviter le taux de chômage élevé, les migrations dangereuses et mortelles, les endettements conditionnés à un goulot d’étranglement et à la non participation africaine au défit économique planétaire ou à l’économie du marché mondial .
08/07/2011 at 2:38 am
simas mily kodrina
08/07/2011 at 11:57 am
I live in South Africa and believe that it’s high time that we act more than speaking. We develop more Love so we may care more. It’s good to see that more weman are riching for greater heights.
Congratulations Lagarde.
08/07/2011 at 12:00 pm
Congrats to Miss Christine Lagarde !!!!
Hoping to perform transparent.
10/07/2011 at 9:00 pm
I think that without strict regulation of global financial firms that do not allow speculation and avoid the emergence of new economic crisis, it will be possible to begin the road to recovery is not to “rescue” as it is going to solve the problems of employment, no nonsense austerity measures, ENOUGH! People that pay for the mistakes of corrupt governments and big business irresponsible it is they who should bear the costs of the crisis, for they are the only cause of all
12/07/2011 at 6:23 am
While it is wonderful that a talented woman at last heads up one of the largest international institutions, the IMF, it’s about time. It’s also about time that the other international institutions, such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, UNEP (environment), and the United Nations itself had open and transparent processes, and elected or appointed more talented women to the top positions. It is about time that these these male bastions of power and politics were changed to bring in more women and greater diversity. For too long they have preached equality – many decades in fact – but they have made little substantive change in achieving it. Systemic inequality, particularly financial and budgetary, still prevails. One only need look at the paltry budgetary allocations made to women’s development by the various institutions to see that talk is cheap. ONE members ultimately must pressure the other institutions to change to achieve real progress for women in Africa or anywhere else.
13/07/2011 at 10:26 pm
situation 1: money missing, product exist. appear economic stopping. situation 2: money exist, products missing, this means inflation. the most powerfull currency is usd, but money are missing. printing money by tresorery of USA is bloked.
25/07/2011 at 2:13 pm
Welcome Lagarde, I live in Nairobi Kenya. I hope you will make use of your office and improve the pathetic situation in Africa. It is an honour to have a worman head one of the largest financial institutions in the world. We are all looking up to you. The ball is now in your court, let us see positive results.
Congratulations Miss Christine Lagarde.