Washington, June 29 (IANS) French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde was Tuesday named as the new chief of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Xinhua reported.

Lagarde will become the first woman to head the IMF when she begins her five-year term as its managing director July 5.

The 24-member executive board of the IMF said both Lagarde and Mexican Central Bank Governor Agustin Carstens are "well qualified" but it decided on the French woman by consensus.

The candidates met with the board last week where they had the opportunity to present the relevant information concerning their candidacies, the Washington-based institution said in a statement.

"Based on the candidate profile that had been established, the executive board, after considering all relevant information on the candidacies, proceeded to select Lagarde by consensus. The board looks forward to Lagarde effectively leading the IMF as its next managing director," it said.

The managing director is the chief of the IMF's operating staff and chair of the executive board. The IMF chief is assisted by three deputy managing directors in the operation of the fund, founded in 1944 and serves 187 member countries.