Mugur Isărescu: Christine
Lagarde's visit to Romania
Opening speech by Mr Mugur Isărescu, Governor of the National Bank of Romania, on the
occasion of the IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde's visit to Romania, Bucharest,
16 July 2013.
* * *
Madame Christine Lagarde,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Today I have the pleasure to welcome again here, at the National Bank of Romania Madame
Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund. It's good to
mention from the beginning that she is the first woman to ever lead the IMF. Timothy
Geithner, the U.S. Treasury Secretary at the time, said upon her appointment, on July 5th,
2011: "Lagarde's exceptional talent and broad experience will provide invaluable leadership
for this institution at a critical time for the global economy."
Allow me to briefly introduce Madame Lagarde to you.
She was born in Paris. Her father was an English professor. She spent her childhood in Le
Havre and after graduating high school she went on a scholarship to Maryland, USA,
attending Holton Arms School in Bethesda. Madame Lagarde got her law degree at
University Paris X (dix), and holds a Master's degree from the Political Science Institute in
Aix-en-Provence.
Already a member of the Paris Bar Association, Christine Lagarde joined the international
law firm of Baker & McKenzie, becoming its Chairman of the Global Executive Committee in
1999. Subsequently, she acted as Chairman of the Global Strategic Committee in 2004.
Christine Lagarde joined the French government in June 2005 as Minister for Foreign Trade.
In June 2007 she became Minister of Economy and Finance, being the first woman to hold
the position of Finance Minister of a G-7 country. From July to December 2008, she also
Financial Times
chaired the ECOFIN Council. In 2009, ranked her as the best Minister of
Finance in the Eurozone, considering both her excellent work within the French government
and her involvement in the management of the financial crisis. Madame Lagarde acted with
diplomacy as Chairman of the G-20 when France took over its presidency for the year 2011.
All these achievements in her current position led Forbes Magazine this year to rank her
among the most powerful and influential women in the world.
Besides her contribution to official matters, Madame Lagarde has broader interests and is
involved in various fields of expertise as well as global issues. For example, she has signaled
the major risk in not addressing climate change saying with humor: "Our kids will be grilled,
fried, toasted and roasted." She also militates for encouraging women to seek education and
enabling them to be more independent and provide for themselves and for their children.
Christine Lagarde is Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur since July 2000, and Commander of
the Order of Mérite agricole. She has an Honorary doctorate from Katholieke Universiteit
Leuven (Belgium).
Eastern Europe and
Madame Lagarde will address you today on a thought-provoking topic:
Romania: The Path to Prosperity. The format will be the following: after her presentation we
will allow three questions from the media and three from our guests.
Madame Lagarde, s'il vous plait...the floor is yours.