The European Council has confirmed the appointment of Christine Lagarde to be the next president of the European Central Bank (ECB).
She will take up the post on November 1st for a non-renewable term of eight years.
She will replace the outgoing president, Mario Draghi.
In July, the European Council considered Ms Lagarde to be the appropriate candidate for ECB president.
The council then issued a formal recommendation on July 9th.
The European Parliament and the ECB gave their opinions to the European Council on September 17th and July 25th, respectively.
On her appointment to the ECB, she said: "My sincere thanks to European leaders for appointing me as President of the ECB from 1 November 2019.
"It is an honour to succeed Mario Draghi.
"I am looking forward to working with the ECB’s talented staff to keep euro area prices stable and banks safe."
My sincere thanks to European leaders for appointing me as President of the @ecb from 1 November 2019. It is an honour to succeed Mario Draghi. I am looking forward to working with the ECB’s talented staff to keep euro area prices stable and banks safe. pic.twitter.com/IkkKrKBBHn
— Christine Lagarde (@Lagarde) October 18, 2019
Born in Paris in 1956, Ms Lagarde completed school in Le Havre and attended Holton-Arms School in Maryland, USA.
She then graduated from law school at University Paris X, and obtained a master's degree from the Political Science Institute in Aix-en-Provence.
After being admitted as a lawyer to the Paris Bar, she joined the international law firm of Baker McKenzie as an associate.
She then became a member of the firm's executive committee in 1995, and chairman of its global executive committee four years later.
The stars of European Union membership sit on a Euro sign sculpture outside the headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt, Germany | Image: Daniel Reinhardt/DPA/PA ImagesMs Lagarde joined the French government in June 2005 as foreign trade minister and then, in June 2007, she became the first woman to hold the portfolio of finance minister of a G7 country.
As chairman of the G20, when France took over its presidency for the year 2011, she set in motion a wide-ranging work agenda on the reform of the international monetary system.
On July 5th, 2011 she became the 11th and first woman managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
She was elected to a second term, which started in July 2016.
Ms Lagarde resigned from this position back in July.
Last month, the IMF named Bulgarian woman Kristalina Georgieva as its new managing director.
