BBC Learning English
Words in the News
29
th
June 2011
New leader for International Monetary Fund
Words in the News
© British Broadcasting Corporation 2011
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bbclearningenglish.com
Christine Lagarde, the French finance minister, has been selected to be the next managing
director of the International Monetary Fund. BBC Correspondent Christian Fraser reports
from Paris.
France has held this position for 26 of the past 33 years. So it's "as you were" with one
notable, pretty obvious difference.
Christine Lagarde is a woman. She was the first woman to become the finance minister of a
G7 country and will now resign her post within the French government to become the first
woman to head the IMF.
But such is the respect with which this former lawyer is held internationally it has come as
little surprise. She's been the point on many European financial issues in recent years, she is
a fluent English speaker and once she had picked up the endorsements of India and China,
her confirmation as the new IMF chief was a formality.
There's an unwritten rule that Europe takes the IMF, the United States heads its sister
organisation the World Bank. The developing countries want a bigger say but this is a critical
time for Europe with Greece on the brink. The EU and the IMF is demanding
unprecedented cuts to guarantee the continued funding of last year’s bailout package and
Europe wants one of its own at the helm. Ms Lagarde is straight in at the deep end. They
voted for her knowing she is more than capable - but what a challenge.
Christian Fraser, BBC News
