Lagarde wins IMF top job, presses Greece on crisis

By Lesley Wroughton

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde on Tuesday clinched the top job at the IMF, keeping the international lender in the hands of a European at a time of growing concern over a possible Greek debt default.

Lagarde, who starts her five-year term as managing director on July 5, will find herself immediately immersed in efforts by the IMF and European Union to head off a Greek default that could touch off an international crisis.

Minutes after her appointment, Lagarde pressed Greece to move quickly to push through unpopular austerity measures that the IMF and EU say are a prerequisite for further aid.

"If I have one message tonight about Greece, it is to call on the Greek political opposition to support the party that is currently in power in a spirit of national unity," she told TF1 television.

Global stocks rose and the euro rallied as financial markets grew increasingly confident Greece's parliament would approve the five-year austerity program this week, which would unleash a 12 billion euro aid tranche from the IMF and EU.

Lagarde, 55, the first woman to head the IMF, succeeds Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who resigned from the IMF in May to defend himself against charges of sexual assault against a New York hotel maid. He denies the charges.

Her skills as a tough negotiator with a reputation for sealing deals under pressure will carry weight as she moves from defending France's economic interests to overseeing a global institution that must be seen as a neutral player around the world.

The succession race was one of the most hotly contested in IMF history as emerging market nations expressed displeasure with the 64-year tradition of having a European head the IMF and an American lead its sister institution, the World Bank.