ECB President Christine Lagarde to step down on 7 February 2027, months before her term ends

Christine Lagarde is leaving her post as President of the European Central Bank (ECB) early. She will step down on 7 February 2027, the ECB said in Frankfurt on 29 October 2026. Lagarde informed the Governing Council and the President of the European Council, António Costa, of her decision the same day. Her term began on 1 November 2019 and would normally have ended on 31 October 2027, so she is leaving almost nine months early. The ECB gave no reason in its statement, which ran to only a few sentences.

The ECB said the Governing Council thanked her warmly and gave her ‘a long standing ovation’. The announcement came on a meeting day: the ECB’s calendar showed 29 October as the second day of a Governing Council monetary policy meeting in Frankfurt, followed by a press conference. At that meeting the Governing Council left the three key ECB interest rates unchanged, the ECB said, so the deposit facility rate stays at 2.50%.

How her successor is chosen

According to the ECB, the European Council will choose her successor under the procedure set out in Article 283 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. As the European Parliament’s fact sheet on the ECB describes it, the European Council decides on the members of the Executive Board by qualified majority. It acts on a recommendation from the Council of the EU, which first consults the European Parliament and the Governing Council. Each member is appointed for a single eight-year term; there is no second term. If the new president takes office in 2027, the term would run until 2035. Our explainer How qualified majority voting works sets out how a qualified majority is reached in the Council of the EU.

Before 7 February 2027 the ECB’s calendar lists two more monetary policy meetings, on 16 and 17 December 2026 and on 3 and 4 February 2027, each with a press conference on the second day. The press conference on 4 February would fall three days before Lagarde leaves. According to the ECB, the President chairs these press conferences, assisted by the Vice-President. Boris Vujčić has been Vice-President since 1 June 2026.

Leaving before the end of the eight years is not new at the top of the ECB. Its first President, Wim Duisenberg, served from 1 June 1998 to 31 May 2003, five years in all. His successors Jean-Claude Trichet and Mario Draghi each served the full eight years.

What the change means in Frankfurt

The ECB’s Executive Board consists of the President, the Vice-President and four other members. It prepares Governing Council meetings, implements monetary policy and runs the central bank’s day-to-day business. The Governing Council, which sets the euro area’s key interest rates, is made up of the Executive Board and the governors of the national central banks; Germany is represented by Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel. Executive Board members always have a vote, while the governors take turns under a rotation system: those from the five countries with the largest economies and financial sectors share four votes, and those from the other 16 countries share 11.

Another change on the Executive Board is due in 2027: according to the ECB’s overview, the term of board member Philip R. Lane ends on 31 May 2027. Lagarde has led the ECB since November 2019 and has also chaired the European Systemic Risk Board since then. Before that she was Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund in Washington from 2011 to 2019 and France’s Minister of Economy and Finance from 2007 to 2011.