Former Baker & McKenzie chair Christine Lagarde has been named as the first female head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Lagarde, who will begin a five-year term as IMF managing director on 5 July, spent over 20 years at Bakers, and held the role of chair between 1999 and 2004, after which she was succeeded by John Conroy.

Her reign was marked by a sustained drive to turn the firm into a top-tier international practice, primarily through bolstering integration and quality control across the firm.

She left Bakers in 2005 to become France's foreign trade minister before being appointed as the country's finance minister in June 2007.

In a statement, current Bakers chairman Eduardo Leite, who succeeded Conroy last year, said: "We congratulate our dear friend and former colleague Christine on her selection as the next managing director of the IMF. At Baker & McKenzie, Christine was an effective leader who used her intellect, discipline and diplomacy to take our firm to new heights.

"As the first female chair of a global law firm, she inspired so many of us with her grace, humanity and consensus-building approach, leaving a lasting impact on our firm and on the legal profession. We wish her every success in her new role."

Lagarde, who has been a key figure in battling the eurozone debt crisis, was elected for the role by consensus over Mexican central bank governor Agustin Carstens and will replace Dominique Strauss-Kahn following his resignation last month.