THE US GOVERNMENT has thrown its support behind Christine Lagarde to head up the IMF.
The Washington Post reports that the endorsement is likely to seal her appointment in advance of a meeting of the board of the International Monetary Fund later today. It’s expected that she will be named as the executive director of the fund, ahead of Mexican central bank chief Agustin Carstens. Added endorsements of Russia, China and other countries ensured she would be over the 50 percent mark, although the board said it wants to decide by consensus rather than a vote.
Us Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has praised Lagarde’s “exceptional talent and broad experience”.
The backing of Washington and Europe gives Lagarde the support of 49 per cent of the voting quotas on the 24-member IMF executive board. The position of head of the IMF has been vacant since former chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was arrested on allegations of sexual assault. He subsequently resigned from the IMF job.
- Additional reporting by AP
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