London (CNN Business) Christine Lagarde has been tapped as the next president of the European Central Bank, an appointment that would make her the first woman to lead the powerful institution.

The European Council announced Tuesday that Lagarde, the current head of the International Monetary Fund, had been chosen to succeed Mario Draghi, whose eight-year term ends in October.

She was one of two women selected for top EU jobs. Ursula von der Leyen, Germany's defense minister, was put forward as president of the European Commission.

Lagarde would be one of only a few women to lead a major central bank. She would bring savvy political skills, and a touch of star power, to the ECB.

Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, cited Lagarde's international experience during a press conference, saying she would make a "perfect" president of the ECB.

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