Dominique Strauss-Kahn

Dominique Gaston André Strauss-Kahn (French: [dɔminik stʁos kan]; born 25 April 1949), also known as DSK, is a French economist and politician who served as the tenth managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and was a member of the French Socialist Party. He attained notoriety due to his involvement in several sex scandals. Strauss-Kahn was a professor of economics at Paris West University Nanterre La Défense and Sciences Po, and was Minister of Economy and Finance from 1997 to 1999, as part of Lionel Jospin's Plural Left government. He sought the nomination in the Socialist Party presidential primary of 2006, but was defeated by Ségolène Royal.

Strauss-Kahn was appointed managing director of the IMF on 28 September 2007, with the backing of French President Nicolas Sarkozy. He served in that capacity until his resignation on 18 May 2011, in the wake of an allegation that he had sexually assaulted a hotel maid; the charges were later dismissed. Other sexual allegations followed, and resulted in acquittals. These accusations were seen as controversial in France, and prompted prominent conspiracy theories, as well as a debate on the role of the media in debating and determining a suspect's guilt ahead of conviction or legal proceedings having even been initiated. Numerous photos of the handcuffed Strauss-Kahn were banned from publication under French laws, while their publication in the United States prompted outrage.

These legal cases led Strauss-Kahn to drop out of the 2012 French presidential election, where he had been the favorite to win the Socialist Party's nomination (the party's eventual candidate, François Hollande, won the presidential election), and put an end to Strauss-Kahn's nascent political career. He then resumed his activities in the private sector, mainly advising governments on their sovereign debts.