Christine Lagarde: European Central Bank President

French antitrust and labor lawyer and politician Christine Lagarde has broken through several glass ceilings. She was the first female to serve in several positions she has held through her career. These include France’s finance minister, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, and her current role as the European Central Bank president. Due to these female-advancing milestones, Lagarde often regarded as one of the world’s most powerful women.

However, a few controversies have plagued her career. Advocating for debt relief during Greece’s financial crisis, Greek leaders were insulted by Lagarde’s dismissal that this was time to “payback” for their lavish lifestyle. Lagarde took to social media the next day to clarify her sympathy, but the damage was already evident, based on the negative responses she received. Controversy additionally surrounded Lagarde concerning the Bernard Tapie arbitrated dispute. Tapie claimed state-owned Crédit Lyonnais defrauded him in the 1990s, and in 2008, Lagarde sent the case to arbitration. The resulting €403 million award to Tapie caused public outrage, leading to an investigation and then a guilty charge of negligence to Lagarde (but no penalty).