Christine Lagarde

Christine Lagarde became the first woman to lead the International Monetary Fund. She managed the IMF's response to the Eurozone debt crisis, including bailouts for Greece, Ireland, and Portugal, and advocated for global financial stability.

A French court found Lagarde guilty of negligence for her role in a

Lagarde became the first woman to lead the European Central Bank, succeeding Mario Draghi. She took office during a period of low inflation and economic slowdown, continuing accommodative monetary policy and launching a strategic review.

Lagarde initiated a review of the ECB's monetary policy strategy, the first since 2003. The review examined inflation targeting, climate change, and digital currencies, resulting in a new symmetric 2% inflation target adopted in 2021.

Lagarde oversaw the ECB's emergency response to the pandemic, including the

Lagarde led the ECB in raising interest rates for the first time in 11 years to combat surging inflation. The rate hikes continued through 2023, marking a shift from years of accommodative policy and impacting borrowing costs across the eurozone.