European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said Thursday, Oct. 29, that she will leave her job on Feb. 7, 2027, nearly nine months before her term ends, so she can speak more freely about issues beyond monetary policy.
She told the ECB’s Governing Council and European Council President António Costa about her decision. The decision starts an early change in leadership at the euro area’s central bank. Lagarde said the expectation that she remain neutral in the job limits what she can say while in office.
She said she wants more freedom to take part in wider political and global matters. Her departure will come before the scheduled end of her eight-year term in October 2027. EU treaty rules set out how the European Council will appoint her successor.
The leadership change is expected to draw political attention to who takes the influential role. The timing also comes before France’s presidential election in April 2027. It gives current European leaders a chance to select a successor before the vote.
Lagarde has led the ECB since 2019. During her time in the role, the ECB has faced the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and major disruptions in energy and inflation.