#DerLeyan

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My father passed away after three years of a debilitating disease, which transformed a very strong and bright man into a real wreck. And that is hard. You have to get out of that stronger, if you can, which I was lucky to be able to. I was the eldest of the family, and I had to support my mother and help my brothers.

- Christine Lagarde

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I think there are multiple studies now to demonstrate that diversity, a better balance between genders, but also between different fields as well, is actually conducive to better growth, better bottom line, and better results.

- Christine Lagarde

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You are never wrong when you have voted because you've acted in accordance with your conscience and your beliefs, and you've exercised your democratic right, which is, you know, perfectly legitimate in our democracies.

- Christine Lagarde

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In the 2013 Economists Program, we hired 51 percent women, and 49 percent men. And the reason for that is that we have a draft from all over the world, and we've hired, for instance, in that group, a good number of Chinese economists - highly qualified, all Ph. D.s from the best universities of the world. And guess what? They're all women.

- Christine Lagarde

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I have lived with extraordinary women, whether it was my grandmother or my mother. My father passed away when I was 16... I was witness to a woman who single-handedly brought up the entire family and managed to do everything... She was an extraordinary role model for me.

- Christine Lagarde

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The European governments have massively changed the landscape in Europe. There is no doubt about it. They have put together the European Financial Stability Fund. They have discussed and approved the European Stability Mechanism.

- Christine Lagarde

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There is a very strong linkage between U.S. banks and European banks. There are plenty of European employees that are employed by U.S. companies, and there are plenty of U.S. employees that are employed by European companies.

- Christine Lagarde

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It's become my brand in a way, you know, speaking the truth even though it was not politically correct.

- Christine Lagarde

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I'm of those who believe that excesses in all matters are not a good idea, whether it's the formation of bubbles, whether it's excess in the financial market, whether it's excess of inequality, it has to be watched, it has to be measured, and it has to be anticipated in terms of consequences.

- Christine Lagarde

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Markets love volatility.

- Christine Lagarde

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I think more of the little kids from a school in a little village in Niger who get teaching two hours a day, sharing one chair for three of them, and who are very keen to get an education. I have them in my mind all the time. Because I think they need even more help than the people in Athens.

- Christine Lagarde

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I guess economists, it's a bit like scientists; you have definitely fewer women in that field.

- Christine Lagarde

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I'm very much a believer that it's an action that matters much more so than, you know, the flurry of political promises and statements and slogans that are used during political campaigns.

- Christine Lagarde

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Gender-dominated environments are not good..., particularly in the financial sector where there are too few women. In gender-dominated environments, men have a tendency to... show how hairy-chested they are, compared with the man who's sitting next to them. I honestly think that there should never be too much testosterone in one room.

- Christine Lagarde

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I was praised in the U.S. and heavily, brutally criticized in France.

- Christine Lagarde

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Regulation is necessary, particularly in a sector, like the banking sector, which exposes countries and people to risk.

- Christine Lagarde