IMF chief no stranger to controversy
International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn is no stranger to controversy about his private and public life.
International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn is no stranger to controversy about his private and public life.
The latest turn in a turbulent career is a formal investigation appointed by the IMF over a possible abuse of power involving an affair with a senior IMF economist who has since left the fund.
A former French socialist finance minister, Strauss-Kahn was written off by critics in 2006 after he failed to win his party’s nomination for the French presidential election and looked set to finish his career as an Economics professor in Paris.
But in an unlikely resurrection, he was nominated as managing director of the Washington-based global financial institution by his erstwhile enemy, centre-right President Nicolas Sarkozy, and grabbed the chance with both hands.
He defied critics of Europe’s historical claim to the top IMF position and those who questioned his ability to do the job at one of the globe’s premier financial institutions.
He returns frequently to France and is seen as someone who could take over as the next head of the Socialist party. An opinion way poll released on recently, said 60 % of French people thought French President Sarkozy was managing the financial crisis well, but a quarter of those surveyed thought Strauss-Kahn would do a better job.
In May, French newspapers reported that he held a lunch with allies from the Socialist Party to emphasise he still had the 2012 election in mind.
In his first year at IMF, Strauss-Kahn has dived head-first into some tough questions over the fund’s relevance and its failure to keep up with the fast-changing world economy that has come about with the rise of emerging economic powers like China and India.
Through political maneuvering, he won support among the IMF’s 185 member countries for a plan to increase the voting shares of emerging and some developing economies, giving them a bigger stake in the institution.
The April deal was slammed for not going far enough to rebalance the voting power within the fund after decades of US and European dominance.
A fan of classical music and art, as well as a keen skier, Strauss-Kahn has also gained a reputation as a ladies’ man.
His marriage to high-profile TV interviewer Anne Sinclair has guaranteed him even more tabloid coverage.
Reuters
The latest turn in a turbulent career is a formal investigation appointed by the IMF over a possible abuse of power involving an affair with a senior IMF economist who has since left the fund.
A former French socialist finance minister, Strauss-Kahn was written off by critics in 2006 after he failed to win his party’s nomination for the French presidential election and looked set to finish his career as an Economics professor in Paris.
But in an unlikely resurrection, he was nominated as managing director of the Washington-based global financial institution by his erstwhile enemy, centre-right President Nicolas Sarkozy, and grabbed the chance with both hands.
He defied critics of Europe’s historical claim to the top IMF position and those who questioned his ability to do the job at one of the globe’s premier financial institutions.
He returns frequently to France and is seen as someone who could take over as the next head of the Socialist party. An opinion way poll released on recently, said 60 % of French people thought French President Sarkozy was managing the financial crisis well, but a quarter of those surveyed thought Strauss-Kahn would do a better job.
In May, French newspapers reported that he held a lunch with allies from the Socialist Party to emphasise he still had the 2012 election in mind.
In his first year at IMF, Strauss-Kahn has dived head-first into some tough questions over the fund’s relevance and its failure to keep up with the fast-changing world economy that has come about with the rise of emerging economic powers like China and India.
Through political maneuvering, he won support among the IMF’s 185 member countries for a plan to increase the voting shares of emerging and some developing economies, giving them a bigger stake in the institution.
The April deal was slammed for not going far enough to rebalance the voting power within the fund after decades of US and European dominance.
A fan of classical music and art, as well as a keen skier, Strauss-Kahn has also gained a reputation as a ladies’ man.
His marriage to high-profile TV interviewer Anne Sinclair has guaranteed him even more tabloid coverage.
Reuters