The World's 50 Greatest Leaders

Rank
36
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Christine Lagarde

US-ECONOMY-FINANCE-IMF-WB
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde arrives at the meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) at the IMF/WB Spring Meetings in Washington, DC, on April 18, 2015. AFP PHOTO/NICHOLAS KAMM (Photo credit should read NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)Nicholas Kamm — AFP/Getty Images
  • Title
    Managing Director
  • Affiliation
    IMF
  • Age
    60

The former French Finance Minister fought to keep the eurozone together in her first term as managing director of the International Monetary Fund, an accomplishment that helped her earn (unopposed) another five-year term. She faces comparable challenges today, among them avoiding a debt crisis in emerging markets, keeping China committed to the path of market reforms, and persuading Congress to honor the reforms the U.S. agreed to in the wake of the 2008 crisis. That may still leave her some time for another cause she favors: boosting female workforce participation in the developing world.