It's easy to see why President Nicolas Sarkozy chose Christine Lagarde as Finance minister to spearhead his ambitious agenda for revitalizing the French economy. Sarkozy, an energetic and unconventional politician who puts pragmatism before ideology and unashamedly proclaims his admiration for the U.S., clearly sees a soul mate in Lagarde. She joined the Paris office of Baker & McKenzie fresh out of law school in 1981, specializing in labor law and competition, then rose steadily through the ranks, crossing the Atlantic to become the Chicago-based firm's first female chairman, from 1999 to 2004.
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