The 2010 TIME 100

When Dominique Strauss-Kahn was appointed managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2007, it was fashionable for commentators to wonder what the fund — set up in 1945 following the Bretton Woods conference — was still for. No more. The Great Recession has placed the IMF back in the spotlight, whether it is helping manage international economic cooperation or coming to the aid of basket cases like Greece. Strauss-Kahn, 61, a notably successful French Finance Minister in the 1990s, has handled his responsibilities with both flair and a sure hand. He sought the Socialist Party's nomination to become France's President in 2007 and is frequently mentioned for the top job back in Paris. But he says he's happy at the IMF's Washington headquarters, and the world should hope he means it.

TIME 100 Social-Networking Index: 431