ECB President Christine Lagarde to step down next February, months before her mandate ends

Christine Lagarde will leave her post as president of the European Central Bank (ECB) on 7 February 2027, the central bank announced on Thursday, around nine months before her eight-year term was due to end. The news came on the day the ECB is set to announce its latest decision on interest rates. Lagarde informed the ECB's Governing Council, which sets interest rates for the eurozone, and European Council President António Costa of her decision, the central bank said in a statement.

"The Governing Council thanked President Lagarde warmly and gave her a long standing ovation," it read. In a separate statement, Lagarde said she was leaving with a sense of a job well done and an ECB that was fit for the future. Both the ECB and Lagarde did not give a reason for her departure.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reacted to the news, thanking Lagarde for her service and stating that "from the pandemic to Russia's war of aggression, your steady hand has helped keep our economy stable and resilient". European Council President António Costa also thanked Lagarde, praising her "dedication as President of the European Central Bank since November 2019". "To ensure a smooth transition to the next leadership of the ECB, the process for the appointment of her successor will be initiated today and will proceed without delay," Costa added.

Greek Economy and Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis, who chairs the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers, also thanked Lagarde on their behalf, saying her time in charge had strengthened confidence in the euro and crediting her leadership through difficult economic times. Her successor will be appointed by the European Council, which brings together EU leaders. Under EU rules, leaders choose the ECB president by qualified majority, on a recommendation from EU finance ministers and after consulting the European Parliament and the ECB's Governing Council.

Lagarde, a former French finance minister and managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), took over at the ECB in November 2019. Why leave early? While the ECB gave no reason, speculation about Lagarde's early departure had been building for months.

As Euronews reported, rumours first emerged in February that Lagarde planned to leave early so that French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz could oversee the choice of her successor before France's presidential election in April of next year. Macron is barred from running for a third term, and the far-right Rassemblement National (National Rally) has been polling strongly, raising the prospect of a eurosceptic government in Paris that could complicate the appointment of a new ECB chief. Leaving next February gives EU leaders time to settle on a name well before French voters go to the polls.