Before his arrest on sexual assault charges in New York, former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was one of the most powerful men in international finance and French politics.

The former French finance minister took charge of the IMF in 2007, with strong support from French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

The 62-year-old Strauss-Kahn led the lending organization as it confronted the world financial crisis and took on a critical role in aiding financially strapped countries like Greece, Ireland and Portugal.

He had been considered a leading contender to run as the Socialist Party’s candidate against Mr. Sarkozy in France’s 2012 presidential election. Some say Mr. Sarkozy supported Strauss-Kahn becoming the IMF director as a ploy to keep him away from French politics.

Strauss-Kahn resigned from the IMF after his arrest in May, but pleaded not guilty to charges he attempted to rape a hotel maid.

Married to his third wife, former French television anchor Anne Sinclair, Strauss-Kahn has weathered previous sex scandals. In 2008, he apologized for what he termed “an error in judgement” for an affair with one of his subordinates at the IMF.

Following his arrest this year, other allegations began to emerge, including from a French novelist whose lawyer said she would file a criminal complaint accusing Strauss-Kahn of sexually assaulting her nine years ago.