Lagarde Named Head of IMF

Christine Lagarde has officially been named to replace Dominique Strauss-Kahn to head the IMF, reports the Washington Post. Lagarde's victory became all but guaranteed after the US endorsed her this morning, giving her the explicit support of more than half the votes on the institution's board, the Wall Street Journal notes. She will be the first woman to head the bank.

Most European nations supported Lagarde from the beginning, and Indonesia, Egypt, and several other African nations backed her as well. “We are encouraged by the broad support she has secured,” Tim Geithner said earlier, praising her “exceptional talent and broad experience." But the appointment is likely to draw protests from the developing world, which had hoped to break the informal arrangement that ensures the IMF is always headed by a European and the World Bank by an American, the AP reports. (More Christine Lagarde stories.)