Dominique Strauss-Kahn has apologised to staff at the International Monetary Fund for dragging its reputation through the mud.
He was forced to quit as head of the organisation after being arrested in May on charges that he tried to sexually assault a maid in a New York hotel.
But days after a judge dismissed the charges, the 62-year-old Frenchman was greeted with handshakes and given a spontaneous round of applause during an “emotional” farewell visit to his old office on Monday.
In a speech to staff at the IMF’s Washington headquarters, he did not talk about the court case but reportedly said that the US justice system had been fair.
Strauss-Kahn apologised “to those who may who have been hurt” by the scandal and said he was sorry it had had a negative impact on the IMF.
Brazilian IMF director Paulo Nogueira Batista said: “It was a very emotional, warm farewell. It reflects the fact that he is much appreciated in the institution.”
Strauss-Kahn visited the IMF with wife Anne Sinclair, who has stood by him through what they called a “nightmare” ordeal.
Strauss-Kahn, who had been tipped to become the next president of France, has been branded “mentally ill” and “unable to control his sexual urges” by a former French prime minister.
Michel Rocard, 81, elder statesman of the Socialist Party to which Strauss-Kahn belongs, told French TV: “It’s a shame, because he is very talented. But I no longer have any faith in his abilities.”
In the US Strauss-Kahn faces a civil lawsuit from the hotel maid, Nafissatou Diallo, while in France he faces claims that he tried to rape journalist Triastane Banon. - Daily Mail