International Monetary Fund - Imf Leader Must Have Broad Support - Bloomberg - Geithner

Christine Lagarde, France's finance minister. Photographer: Munshi Ahmed/Bloomberg

May 20 (Bloomberg) Nouriel Roubini, the economist who predicted the global financial crisis, David Blanchflower, a professor of economics at Dartmouth College, and Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg talk about potential candidates for the managing director role at the International Monetary Fund following the resignation of Dominique Strauss-Kahn. This report also contains comments from Bessma Momani, a senior fellow at the Center for International Governance and Innovation, Paul Donovan, deputy head of global economics at UBS AG, Niall Ferguson, a professor at Harvard University, and Paul Blustein, a fellow at the Brookings Institution. (Source: Bloomberg)

May 20 (Bloomberg) Jacob Kirkegaard, research fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, talks about possible candidates to lead the International Monetary Fund following the resignation of Dominique Strauss-Kahn as managing director. Kirkegaard speaks with Deirdre Bolton on Bloomberg Television's "InsideTrack." (Source: Bloomberg)

May 20 (Bloomberg) Jens Larsen, chief European economist at RBC Capital Markets, discusses the leadership of the International Monetary Fund and political divisions over the euro-zone debt crisis. (Source: Bloomberg)

May 20 (Bloomberg) Shen Jianguang, a former International Monetary Fund economist and now at Mizuho Securities Asia Ltd. in Hong Kong, talks about the selection of a new IMF chief following Dominique Strauss-Kahn's departure. U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner called for the quick appointment of a successor to Strauss-Kahn to head the IMF as European governments rallied to support French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde. Shen speaks with John Dawson on Bloomberg Television's "On the Move Asia." (Source: Bloomberg)

Treasury Secretary International Monetary Fund who can command broad support, and he renewed his call for a quick decision.

We are consulting broadly with the fund s shareholders from emerging markets, as well as advanced economies, Geithner said in a statement today in Washington. It is important that this be an open process and one that moves quickly to select new leadership for the IMF.

French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde emerged as the leading contender to replace Strauss-Kahn, who was indicted yesterday on charges including attempted rape, as European officials moved to maintain control over the institution that approved a record $91.7 billion in emergency loans last year and provides a third of the euro-area s bailout packages. When Strauss-Kahn was picked in 2007, the process took three months.

Italy and Sweden backed Lagarde, while German Foreign Minister said he holds her in high esteem, the first public hint of German support. Officials in , South Africa said the next managing director should come from a developing nation even as they failed to unite behind one candidate the way Europe coalesced around Lagarde.

I would argue that Christine Lagarde has outstanding credentials, Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg said in a Bloomberg Television interview yesterday. Her gender is an advantage since half of the world has not been represented as managing director of the IMF, Borg said.

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