Christine Lagarde says will run for second International Monetary Fund term

He described the 60-year-old as “an outstanding leader with (the) vision and acumen to steer (the) global economy in years ahead”.

Ms Lagarde has been seen as all but a lock to be reappointed, though concern about legal charges related to actions taken when she was French finance minister dampened those expectations slightly in December.

“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.

“They said, ‘Because youre a woman.'” “And I just left…”, she said. On the positive side, Lagarde said, things we did not think will happen, have happened including on sustainable growth and climate change.

Lagarde has been dogged off-and-on since her initial appointment in 2011 for her role in a long-running business scandal while she was France’s finance minister.

Christine Lagarde’s term comes to an end on 5 July this year, although nominations have already come in backing her for a second five years.

Douglas Rediker, a fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and former U.S. representative to the IMF’s executive board, said the former French finance minister’s approach to the job gives her a strong chance of being reconfirmed.

Ms. Lagarde’s term as International Monetary Fund chief came at the height of the eurozone’s sovereign-debt crisis.

Last month, a French judge ordered her to face trial for negligence in a special ministerial court over the 2008 payout of some 400 million euros ($430 million) to businessman Bernard Tapie.

The IMF board has reaffirmed its confidence in Lagarde’s ability to effectively carry out her duties. (S)he will also be an effective communicator among other requirements.

Guiding the Fund through the successful rescues of Ireland, Portugal and Cyprus, and the still-troubled bailouts of Greece and Ukraine, Lagarde has garnered deep respect in the global financial community.

Speaking about China’s economic slowdown, she said the country needed to refine its communication on reforms it was taking and its market policies.

At the same time, she skillfully managed the shifting currents of power in the Fund, where emerging giants like China are challenging the Europe-US-dominated status quo.