Eurozone governments must submit candidates to replace outgoing European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde by Nov. 6, according to a statement from a spokesperson for the Eurogroup, the informal forum of eurozone finance ministers. The spokesperson said the Council of the EU has started the procedure for appointing her successor. Eurogroup President Kyriakos Pierrakakis has asked member states to send their nominations by Friday, Nov. 6, 2026.
Lagarde announced last week that she will leave her post by Feb. 7, 2027. Two other seats on the ECB executive board also need to be filled next year. Isabel Schnabel is joining the IMF in January, and chief economist Philip Lane is set to end his term in May.
Eurozone finance ministers will discuss the candidates and the process for filling all three posts at their next meeting on Nov. 9, an EU official told POLITICO. The European Council, made up of heads of state and government, will make the final decision on the ECB president.
POLITICO reports that the two frontrunners to replace Lagarde are Spain's Pablo Hernández de Cos and Dutchman Klaas Knot.