You're reading: Christine Lagarde gathers support to be IMF chief

June 15 (Reuters) - Senegal on Wednesday became the latest country to back the candidacy of French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde to head the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Lagarde is being challenged by Mexico’s central bank chief Agustin Carstens in the race to succeed Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who resigned last month after being charged with the attempted rape of a hotel maid in New York. He has denied the charges.

Emerging economies such as Russia, India and China say they want an end to an unwritten rule that puts the IMF in European hands while the World Bank is run by an American.

The following are details of how countries are lining up:

FOR LAGARDE:

FRANCE: French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said Lagarde is superbly qualified for the job.

G8: French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said on May 29 that the Group of Eight leaders all backed Lagarde.

BRITAIN: Prime Minister David Cameron said on May 27 that Britain strongly backed Lagarde and that he believed there was a "good case" for the role staying in European hands.

EGYPT: Foreign Minister Nabil El-Araby has announced Egypt’s support for Lagarde.

EUROPEAN UNION: European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said on May 25 he "fully endorsed" Lagarde’s candidacy.

FINLAND:Finnish Prime Minister-elect Jyrki Katainen said on Monday Finland "has given its support to European candidate, Christine Lagarde".

GEORGIA: Georgian central bank governor Georgy Kadagidze has said Georgia supports Lagarde.

GERMANY: German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on June 2 she supported Lagarde as the next IMF chief, but that she was not opposed to non-European candidates assuming the top post in the future. The government announced its support on May 25.

GUINEA-BISSAU: Helena Embalo, minister for economic planning and integration, said last week she would support Lagarde.

NETHERLANDS: Dutch Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager said on May 23 Lagarde was "outstandingly suitable."

NORWAY: Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg has said Norway regards Lagarde’s candidacy as "very positive."

POLAND: Poland supports Lagarde, Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski said on May 25.

SENEGAL: Senegalese Foreign Minister Madicke Niang said on Wednesday Lagarde has the "unreserved" support of Senegal in her bid for the IMF job.

"Senegal is counting on Mme Lagarde to pursue Africa’s concerns, to get African countries more actively involved, and to reserve for them a greater role in IMF decision-making" Niang said in a statement.

SLOVENIA: Slovenia said on May 25 it backed Lagarde.

UAE: Obeid Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, on Sunday said the UAE supports Lagarde.

LEANING LAGARDE:

RUSSIA: Russia has not officially supported Lagarde’s candidacy, but on May 27 Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the French minister was "completely acceptable" for the role.

UNITED STATES: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a news conference in Paris on May 26 that Washington had not yet taken an official stance, but "unofficially" welcomed highly qualified female candidates to lead international agencies.

FOR CARSTENS

LATAM: Colombia’s foreign minister said on June 8 that it and a dozen other Latin American countries supported Carstens’ candidacy.

They include: Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru, Panama, Uruguay, Mexico, Paraguay, Belize, Honduras, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.
Costa Rica has also endorsed Carstens who on Monday conceded he was a long shot for the IMF’s top job.