IMF nominates sole candidate Christine Lagarde for second term to lead agency

Zee Media Bureau

The International Monetary Fund on Thursday said its chief Christine Lagarde has been nominated to second term as the agency`s managing director.

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde has been nominated to second term as the agency's managing director, the IMF said in a statement on Thursday.

The agency also informed that Lagarde, who filed her nomination on January 22, was the sole candidate for a new term that will begin in July.

The term of Lagarde comes to an end in July this year after taking the helm of the IMF as its 11th director in 2011 and the first woman to lead the agency.

As the IMF opened its nominations on January 21, Christine Lagarde announced a day later that she would run for the second term at the head of the International Monetary Fund, after winning strong backing from across Europe.

"Yes, I am running for a second mandate," the former French finance minister had said in an interview with France 2 television.

"I've had the honour of receiving support since the opening of the procedure," she said, pointing in particular to endorsements from France, Britain, Germany and China. British finance minister George Osborne yesterday tweeted that he was "delighted to nominate" her for a new term.

While expressing her desire to serve the agency for another term, she had drawn immediate endorsements from Germany, France, Britain, and the Netherlands, while the United States praised her performance in the role without giving its formal backing.

With Agency Inputs