Christine Lagarde announced this Thursday that she will leave the presidency of the European Central Bank (ECB) in February, a decision she has already communicated to the members of the Governing Council and also to the President of the European Council, António Costa.
"I have just informed my colleagues that I will step down as President of the ECB on 7 February 2027. It has been a great honour to serve this institution. I thank everyone who has supported me during these seven years," the Frenchwoman stated in a video released on social media.
Lagarde thus confirms the rumours suggesting her departure from the institution before her term ends in October 2027. Furthermore, the French lawyer is prematurely ending a turbulent presidency during which she has had to face several economic crises, including the Covid-19 pandemic and two energy crises stemming from the war in Ukraine and that in Iran.
Additionally, Lagarde has expanded some of the ECB's international competencies, speaking out on the climate emergency and the economic policies that some European governments should address. "Europe largely missed the first digital revolution. We cannot afford to repeat that experience with artificial intelligence, the second digital revolution," said the still President of the ECB in August.
Before joining the European Central Bank, Lagarde led the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for eight years, where she was also the first woman to hold the position of Managing Director. Previously, she had been France's Minister of Finance during the global financial crisis and worked at the international law firm Baker McKenzie, where in 1999 she became the first woman to lead the firm.
Since taking over from Italian Mario Draghi in 2019, Lagarde oversaw the central bank's exit from negative interest rates and the start of an aggressive series of rate hikes aimed at curbing rising inflationary pressures. Despite receiving some criticism for her communication style, Lagarde is generally considered to have managed these crises satisfactorily.
Lagarde leaves the presidency of the ECB at a difficult time, as inflation is drifting away from the institution's 2% target due to inflationary pressures arising from the conflict in the Middle East, particularly the rise in energy prices. The ECB was the first major central bank to raise interest rates to contain the surge in prices following the onset of hostilities between Tehran, Tel Aviv, and the United States.
