At the Eurogroup meeting on Monday, the head of the Croatian National Bank, Boris Vujcic, was elected as Vice President of the European Central Bank (ECB). The Latvian representative did not pass the competition.
Earlier, two candidates were officially nominated for the position of Vice President of the ECB: the current President of the Bank of Latvia, Martins Kazaks, and the former Minister of Finance of Portugal, Mario Centeno.
However, in the end, Croatian Boris Vujcic emerged, and he secured this high-paying position.
By the end of 2027, considering the terms of the current board members, four members of the ECB board, including the chair and vice-chair, will need to be re-elected.
The term of the current ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos expires on May 31, 2026, so Latvia had the opportunity to nominate its own candidate for this position.
The term of ECB President Christine Lagarde expires in 2027.
The upcoming changes in the ECB board have drawn increased attention to the issue of balance in this institution. Reuters notes that historically, the board has been dominated by men from the largest eurozone countries — France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Since the ECB was established in 1998, no country that was previously part of the USSR has held a position on the board.
Reuters also points out that since the establishment of the ECB, only 19% of board members have been women.
Previously, Kazaks was elected for a second term as President of the Bank of Latvia in February 2025 only on his second attempt. In the first round, due to political intrigues, Kazaks was not re-elected.
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