President of the European Central Bank

Christine
Lagarde

Lawyer. Policymaker. European leader. Shaping monetary policy through an era of economic, technological and geopolitical change.

Explore her agenda Follow the journey
Official portrait of Christine Lagarde
Official ECB portrait, 2019 · Source: ECB
Price stability● European resilience● Digital euro● Global cooperation● Inclusive leadership● Price stability● European resilience● Digital euro●

The profile

A career built across law, government and global finance.

Leadership is about creating the conditions for confidence—in institutions, in cooperation and in our shared future.

Christine Lagarde has served as President of the European Central Bank since November 2019. She also chairs the European Systemic Risk Board and participates in the G7 and G20.

Before joining the ECB, she led the International Monetary Fund from 2011 to 2019. Earlier, she served as France’s Minister of Economy and Finance and became the first woman to hold that office in a G7 economy.

Her professional path began in law. She rose to become Global Chairman of Baker McKenzie, bringing a legal, international and consensus-driven perspective to economic leadership.

Read the official biography
1956
Born in Paris, France
1981
Begins international legal career
2011
Appointed Managing Director of the IMF
2019
Becomes President of the ECB

Leadership journey

From counsel
to central banker.

Move through four defining chapters of an international career.

  1. 1981—2005

    International law

    Attorney, managing partner and ultimately Global Chairman of Baker McKenzie.

    01
  2. 2005—2011

    French government

    Minister of Trade, Agriculture and Fisheries, then Economy and Finance.

    02
  3. 2011—2019

    Global finance

    First woman to serve as Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund.

    03
  4. 2019—Today

    European Central Bank

    Leading monetary policy for the euro area through a period of profound change.

    04

The agenda

Four forces shaping Europe’s economic future.

01

Price stability

Keeping inflation anchored and preserving confidence in the single currency.

02

Digital euro

Preparing public money for an increasingly digital European economy.

03

Innovation & scale

Turning Europe’s economic size into investment, productivity and global reach.

04

Global cooperation

Protecting openness and stability in a more fragmented international system.

Ideas in public

Selected speeches

Recent addresses on Europe’s growth model, monetary stability and technological change.

View ECB archive
ECB Forum on Central Banking

Back to basics in an uncertain environment
Annual Global Risk Lecture

Technology, fragmentation and the new uncertainty
NABE Economic Policy Conference

Turning size into scale: Europe’s new growth model
European Parliament

Hearing of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

Stability is not standing still.

It is the confidence to move forward.

Media & enquiries

Contact

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For speaking engagements, public policy events and media enquiries. Official ECB requests should use the ECB’s media contact channels.

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