Geldpolitik: EZB-Präsidentin Christine Lagarde tritt im Februar vorzeitig ab
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Christine Lagarde, the President of the European Central Bank (ECB), is stepping down earlier than expected. She will vacate her position on February 7, 2027, according to the ECB's announcement. Lagarde informed the ECB's Council and European Council President António Costa about her decision. The regular term of eight years was set to end at the close of October 2027.
The leaders of the 21 Eurozone countries now need to decide on the successor to Lagarde. Lagarde's departure allows the outgoing French President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) to finalize the appointment of a new leader in one of Europe's most significant positions before the French election in April 2027. Her resignation is not surprising; rumors of an early departure have been circulating for some time.
The Financial Times reported in February 2026 that Lagarde intended to step down before the presidential election in France in April 2027, citing concerns that euroskeptic legal populists like Marine Le Pen could win the election and hinder the replacement of the ECB's leadership. Lagarde confirmed in September to the ECB's Council her own thoughts of leaving the ECB "a few months" early.
Germany has never held the position of the ECB's head in the bank's more than 25-year history. Candidates for Lagarde's successor include the former Dutch Central Bank chief Klaas Knot and Spain's Pablo Hernández de Cos, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). ECB Director Isabel Schnabel, who had also expressed interest in Lagarde's successor, is moving to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington at the beginning of January 2027, leaving her position in the six-member ECB Executive Board soon vacant.
The bank will need a new Chief Economist by June 2027, as Philip R. Lane's term ends. It is likely that a whole personnel package will be negotiated at the European level. Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil recently emphasized Germany's continued role in the ECB's Executive Board. The largest obstacle to a German at the ECB's helm is that Germany already has a female leader: Ursula von der Leyen.
Having two Germans at the helm of such crucial institutions in Europe could be difficult to accomplish in Brussels' personnel poker.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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