European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde will resign nine months ahead of the end of her term, a move that opens the way for European leaders to choose a successor ahead of France’s presidential election next year.
Lagarde will leave February 7, the ECB said Thursday (October 29, 2026). Her eight-year term was to end October 31, 2027. Ms. The announcement was not a surprise since there has been speculation that Lagarde would leave early to enable EU leaders to choose a successor while pro-EU French President Emmanuel Macron is still in office. That would guard against the possibility that right-wing presidential candidate Marine Le Pen might win the election and influence the choice.
EU leaders would likely seek to reach agreement on all three posts before a summit meeting on December 17-18, said Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg bank.
“That she leaves early is no surprise and does not change the outlook for ECB policies,” said Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg bank. He said that leading candidates for Lagarde’s job appeared to be former Netherlands central bank head Klaas Knot and Spain’s Pablo Hernandez de Cos, the general manager of the Bank for International Settlements. European Council President Antonio Costa said that the selection process “will be initiated today and will proceed without delay.
