Christine Lagarde on Friday assumed her duties as the first-ever female president of the European Central Bank (ECB).
"She was appointed by the European Council on 18 October 2019 for a term of office of eight years," the ECB said in a statement.
Lagarde, the French managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) since 2011, succeeds the Italian Draghi, who was in the post for eight years and guided the European Central Bank (ECB) through the aftermath of the global financial crisis.
Ahead of taking office, the former French finance minister expressed her approval for the continuation of the monetary policy pursued by the ECB under Draghi, with ultra-low and negative interest rates, along with asset purchases.
But she has also indicated that she will look closely into the effects of negative rates on the banking sector, amid concerns in Germany in particular regarding the effects on bank profitability and on personal savings.
Attac, a protest group that focuses on taxes and tax evasion, scheduled a protest outside ECB headquarters in Frankfurt from Friday midday (1100 GMT). The group is calling for the ECB to pay heed to social and environmental criteria in its asset purchase programme.
Fridays for Future and Extinction Rebellion have also called on supporters to demonstrate in Frankfurt.
Lagarde is the second French ECB head since the bank was set up in June 1998, with Dutch banker Wim Duisenberg as its first president up to 2003. He was followed by France's Jean-Claude Trichet up to 2011, who was in turn succeeded by Draghi.
