Christine Lagarde chosen to lead IMF.

French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde has been chosen to lead the International Monetary Fund . She will become the first female managing director of the global lending organization.

Lagarde's selection became all but assured when the Obama administration endorsed her earlier Tuesday. Hours later, the IMF's 24-member board voted to appoint her to the position. She had also won support from Europe, China and Russia.

I am deeply honored by the trust placed in me,'' Lagarde said in a statement after the vote. ``I would like to thank the fund's global membership warmly for the broad-based support I have received.''

Lagarde will face immediate challenges once she begins a five-year term next week.

She'll have to prod fellow European officials to take painful steps to prevent a default by Greece. She'll face pressure from emerging nations that want a greater voice at the IMF. And she'll be looked upon to restore the organization's reputation, which was tarred by a scandal involving the man she replaced.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn resigned last month after being charged with sexually assaulting a New York City hotel housekeeper. He has denied the charges.

She was chosen by consensus, the IMF said in a statement. Mexico's Agustin Carstens challenged her, but his candidacy never caught fire.

Lagarde's exceptional talent and broad experience will provide invaluable leadership ... at a critical time for the global economy,'' U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said.

Lagarde, 55, will be the first person to lead the IMF who isn't an economist. She led the Chicago-based law firm Baker & McKenzie before entering French politics in 2005. She speaks impeccable English and spent much of her career in the United States.

As one of the longest-serving ministers under French President Nicolas Sarkozy, she made the country's labor market rules more flexible. Forbes has listed her among the world's most powerful women.

Her appointment puts two women in prominent leadership roles at the organization. In April, Nemat Shafik, an Egyptian economist and former World Bank official, was appointed a top deputy at the fund. Shafik said last month the IMF is boosting its efforts to recruit women. The fund wants 25 percent to 30 percent of its management positions to be held by women by 2014, Shafik said.

In addition to the most recent charges, Strauss-Kahn was reprimanded in 2008 for having a brief affair with a subordinate, though he faced no disciplinary action.

Lagarde told the IMF's board last week that the managing director ``has to lead by example.'' She promised to ``restore staff pride in working at the IMF'' as part of a "healing process.''

Lagarde will be expected to help stabilize Europe's debt crisis.

That's likely one reason why even some developing countries, such as China, supported her candidacy, Lombardi said. China owns billions of dollars in euro-dominated bonds and has little interest in seeing the European debt crisis worsen.

France's Lagarde for IMF post

U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said Tuesday that he supports French finance minister Christine Lagarde as head of the International Monetary Fund.

"Minister Lagarde's exceptional talent and broad experience will provide invaluable leadership for this indispensable institution at a critical time for the global economy," Geithner said in a statement.

The global financial organization is expected to vote on a new managing director as early as Tuesday to replace Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who was arrested in New York last month on sexual assault charges.

The vote on whom to appoint to the influential post comes at a crucial time for the IMF, which has been working closely with the European Union and the European Central Bank to provide financial support for Greece and other troubled European economies.

The only other contender is Mexican Central Bank chief Agustin Carstens, who has been supported by Australia, Canada and Mexico.

Geithner commended Carstens "on his strong and very credible candidacy."

Lagarde, who would be the first woman to run the IMF, is also backed by the United Kingdom, Germany and most European powers. Some Asian and African nations have also signaled support for her candidacy.

The fund's 24-member executive board seeks to agree on a new managing director by consensus.

The IMF, which is made up of 187 member countries, has traditionally been led by a Western European official.

For Greece, the real challenge is still ahead

Some developing nations had pushed to break that tradition, arguing that the IMF should consider candidates from rising economic powers in Asia and South America.

In a statement to the IMF's executive board released last week, Lagarde said the fund "belongs to no one but its 187 member states."

"I am not here to represent the interest of any given region of the world, but rather the entire membership," she continued.

The fund was established in 1947 to help rebuild the international monetary system after World War II. In addition to monetary cooperation and exchange rate stability, the IMF works to facilitate international trade and promote economic growth around the world.

The IMF has been led by John Lipsky, a veteran deputy managing director, since May 19.

Strauss-Khan pleaded not guilty earlier this month to seven charges involving a May 14 incident in which a housekeeping employee at New York's Sofitel hotel accused him of sexual assault.

Once considered a top candidate in France's next presidential race, Strauss-Khan officially resigned from the IMF on May 19. He is being held under house arrest in a Manhattan apartment on $6 million in bail money.