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Dominique Strauss-Kahn

French economist

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 26, 2026
Entity authorityQ385437 ↗
Source-derived summary

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 political career.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Dominique Strauss-Kahn” as french economist. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Dominique, Strauss-Kahn and French.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1949, 1997, 1999, 2006—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1949-04-25. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Dominique, Strauss-Kahn and French providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Dominique Strauss-Kahn”, the useful work is to connect “french economist” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q385437. VIAF identifies the subject as 64012171. The Library of Congress control number is n50013896. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1949, 1997, 1999 and 2006.

Critical limits

Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
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  2. Expand the search: follow Dominique Strauss-Kahn primary sources, Dominique Strauss-Kahn archive and Dominique research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Dominique Strauss-Kahn” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.