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European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde will step down on February 7, 2027, the bank announced on Thursday, October 29, bringing her presidency to an early close about nine months before her eight-year term was due to end in October 2027.
The ECB said Lagarde informed its Governing Council and European Council President António Costa of her decision on Thursday. The Governing Council thanked her warmly and gave her a long standing ovation, the bank said.
In a video message, Lagarde said she had just told her fellow policymakers and staff of her decision, and that she leaves the institution with a sense of good work done and an ECB fit for the future.
Costa said he had been informed of her intention to step down on February 7, 2027, thanked her for her dedication since November 2019, and credited her with steady stewardship through the pandemic, the war in Europe, energy crises and inflation shocks. He said the process to appoint her successor will be initiated immediately and proceed without delay, with a view to a timely decision by the European Council in its euro area composition, under Article 283(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
Lagarde, a former French finance minister and managing director of the International Monetary Fund, took office in November 2019, succeeding Mario Draghi as the ECB's fourth president and its second from France. Her term was due to run until the end of October 2027.
The announcement came after months of speculation about an early departure, with the World Economic Forum seen as a likely destination, Reuters reported. Lagarde has ruled out standing in France's presidential election in April 2027; last month she declined to confirm she would serve out her term, saying only that she would leave in 2027.
The timing opens the succession before France's presidential election. Former Dutch central bank governor Klaas Knot and former Spanish central bank governor Pablo Hernández de Cos, who now heads the Bank for International Settlements, are seen as frontrunners, Reuters reported.
The successor will take charge of interest rates for the eurozone's 21 member states and more than 350 million people, at a delicate moment: the ECB is battling elevated inflation driven by higher energy costs linked to the Iran war, against volatile geopolitics, nervous bond markets and heavy European spending on defence and infrastructure. The bank was widely expected to hold its deposit rate at 2.5% at Thursday's meeting, with another increase possible as soon as December.
Eurogroup President Kyriakos Pierrakakis thanked Lagarde for her contribution to euro area stability and said the Eurogroup will act swiftly to prepare the Council's recommendation on the appointment.