Trichet secures ECB job
European finance ministers have officially announced Jean-Claude Trichet as president of the European Central Bank, according to official statements.
Mr Trichet, presently governor of the Banque de France and a former deputy governor with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, will replace Wim Duisenberg.
Mr. Trichet’s candidacy was unanimously approved last month by EU leaders, soon after he was cleared of complicity in producing misleading accounts for Credit Lyonnais while at the Treasury during the 1980s.
Credit Lyonnais received £31 billion in a forced bailout out by the French government
60-year-old Mr Trichet will begin the eight-year tenured post on November 1.
The nomination will be sent to the European Parliament and the ECB’s board of governors for approval, though it is unlikely that there will be any concerted objection to his election.
German deputy finance minister Cajo Koch-Weser said Mr Trichet was “an especially qualified central banker who will considerably shape and determine the destiny of the ECB.”
