Dominique Strauss-Kahn

Economist / Political Figure
Date Of Birth:
25 April 1949
Place Of Birth:
Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
Best Known As:
The IMF director accused of sexual assault in 2011
Dominique Strauss-Kahn was the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and a presumed Socialist Party candidate for the presidency of France when he was arrested in May of 2011 and charged with assaulting a New York hotel maid. A native of France, Dominique Strauss-Kahn grew up in Morocco, Monaco and Paris. He holds university degrees in law and business, and a doctorate in economics from the University of Paris. He had a successful career in law and international investment before gaining international attention in the 1990s, first as Minister of Industry and International Trade from 1991 to 1993, then as France's Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry from 1997 until his resignation in 1999 (he was caught up in a corruption scandal, but was later cleared). A member of the French National Assembly from 2001 to 2007, he became Managing Director of the IMF in 2007 and was credited with strong stewardship during the economic crises of 2008 onward. Known in the press as "DSK," Strauss-Kahn also has a reputation as a suave ladies' man. Although married to former TV star and heiress Anne Sinclair, "The Great Seducer" (as some tabloids called him) was caught up in a sex scandal in 2008, when he publicly apologized for having a love affair with an IMF subordinate. While visiting New York on 14 May 2011, Strauss-Kahn was arrested at the airport and held without bail on charges of sexually assaulting a maid at the Sofitel Hotel near Times Square. He resigned his post at the IMF on 18 May 2011. The accuser proved unreliable, and after several weeks of turmoil and tabloid coverage, all charges against Strauss-Kahn were dropped. Strauss-Kahn returned to France, where before the arrest he had been considered a leading challenger to Nicolas Sarkozy for the presidency in 2012. He was then charged by French authorities in 2013 with procuring prostitutes (or "aggravated pimping," as it was widely translated to English) for his alleged role in a series of sex parties at the Hotel Carlton in Lille, France. He was finally acquitted of those charges as well in June of 2015.
Extra Credit:

Dominique Strauss-Kahn was succeeded at the IMF by Christine Lagarde, who took office in July 2011… Dominique Strauss-Kahn has four daughters, according to a March 31, 2011 article in Der Spiegel… He has been married three times: first to Hélène Dumas in 1967, when both were still teenagers; he divorced her to marry Brigitte Guillemette in 1984, and they divorced in 1989; and finally to journalist Anne Sinclair from 1991 until their divorce in 2013.

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