IMF's Lagarde 'honoured' to be tapped to head European Central Bank

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde on Tuesday announced she would step down "temporarily" from the leadership of the global crisis lender after being nominated to lead the European Central Bank. EU leaders on Tuesday announced a deal to fill the top positions in the political and economic bloc, including nominating Lagarde as successor to ECB chief Mario Draghi, whose single, eight-year term ends in November.

"I am honored to have been nominated for the Presidency of the European Central Bank," Lagarde said in a statement. "In light of this, and in consultation with the Ethics Committee of the IMF Executive Board, I have decided to temporarily relinquish my responsibilities as Managing Director of the IMF during the nomination period."

The nomination means Lagarde will step down two years before the end of her second five-year term at the helm of the IMF. Her second term in office coincided with the rise of US President Donald Trump and a wave of confrontations among major economies over trade, which the former French finance minister described as a singular threat to the world economy.

Lagarde has at the same time acknowledged the strains caused by globalization, which has disrupted industries and marginalized some workers.