As Mario Draghi, the European Central Bank Chief comes to the end of his single eight-year term in November, the search for his replacement has begun. 

The EU leaders have picked Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, to lead the ECB in order to succeed Draghi in November. The European Union leaders made this announcement as a part of a deal that included a plan to fill the top positions in the political and economic bloc. 

“I am honored to have been nominated for the ECB Presidency. In light of this, and in consultation with the Ethics Committee of the IMF Executive Board, I have decided to temporarily relinquish my responsibilities as IMF Managing Director during the nomination period,” said Christine Lagarde, in response to the announcement from ECB. 

Back in 2011, when Lagarde was first named as the Managing Director of the IMF, it was the first time that the international lender that helps countries get out of debt had conducted an open leadership search process. During this process, the representative of any country or board member could nominate a candidate. 

Lagarde’s first appointment to the IMF was during the time of the global recession that has left a lasting impact on the economic wellbeing of countries across the globe. 

Lagarde’s announcement to step away from the IMF has created another replacement in the global lender’s team as she will be stepping down two years prior to the end of her second term. This is Lagarde’s second five-year term as the leader of the IMF. As the fund’s executive term begins the search for a new chief, the leaders have chosen David Lipton, the renowned American economist and the First Deputy Managing Director of the IMF, as the interim leader. 

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