Saturday 23 July 2011

DSK - Rise & Fall.


DSK – Rise & Fall!
From being an economist, a lawyer, a politician, the M.D. of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to the most humiliated Frenchman in the world, Dominique Gaston André Strauss-Kahn (DSK) has come a long way! DSK was born to wealthy parents in a Parisian suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine. His father, Gilbert Strauss-Kahn, was a famous lawyer and mother, Jacqueline Fellus, was a journalist. DSK, described as a charmer by those who have studied and worked with him, has never been a stranger to scandal or controversy.
Until sometime ago, Strauss-Kahn was known as the most successful IMF chief and tried to remake the IMF into a doctor of global finance, rather than a policeman. Strauss-Kahn was appointed the IMF chief in 2007, just a year before the world moved into a global financial crisis, since then he has been highly credited with transforming the US-based IMF into the key player in unfolding the economic crisis back in Europe.
Though praised for his stewardship of global institutions he has been surrounded by allegations of sexual assault from the very beginning of his appointment as M.D. of the IMF.
Strauss-Kahn who has been married thrice with four kids was always notorious for being the ladies man.
Only a year after his appointment as the IMF chief, DSK was investigated for an affair with a junior colleague, Piroska Nagy, a Hungarian economist. Back then the IMF had stood by Strauss-Kahn, calling the relationship ‘consensual’. In May 2011, DSK who was expected to challenge French President Nicolas Sarkozy in elections next year was charged with criminal sexual act and attempted rape. The victim, a New York City hotel maid, said that a naked Strauss-Kahn had pounced on her, throwing her on the bed. On May 18th the 62 year old announced his resignation, saying that he would fight the allegations against him. Since then, his lawyers have scrutinized the woman’s character, background and have pitted her words against her. On June 30th law enforcement officials said investigators had uncovered major holes in the housekeeper's credibility and on 1st July DSK was released on grounds of ‘weakness in the case’. But, just three days later, a French writer named Tristane Banon claimed that she was sexually assaulted by Mr. Kahn in 2003 and that she would officially accuse him of attempted rape. DSK’s lawyers have asked him to file a counter complaint of slander.
Strauss-Kahn’s third wife, French television journalist Anne Sinclair, has stood by her husband’s side throughout the investigation and in a statement to a French Agency said, "I do not believe for one second the accusations brought against my husband. I have no doubt his innocence will be established."
Let’s hope the man once respected and admired for his economic acumen and political know-how bounces back from his biggest challenge yet – clearing his name.
By: Zahra Zahid Khan

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