Before that appointment, he was also the sixth managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 1978 to 1987 Larosière descends from Joseph Thebaud.

[citation needed] He studied at Lycée Louis-le-Grand and Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris.

Larosière served as the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 17 June 1978 to 15 January 1987.

In the wake of the Bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso asked Larosière to lead a high-level group that in February 2009 produced a landmark report, known as the "Larosière Report" and recommending a broad overhaul of the European Union financial regulatory architecture.

As of 2021 he remains Chairman of the Strategic Committee of the French debt management office, the Agence France Trésor [fr], and advisor to BNP Paribas.