Peter Praet

Peter Praet (born 20 January 1949 in Herchen near Eitorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) is executive board member and chief economist of the European Central Bank.[1][2] Within the board, Praet is widely considered to be centrist on monetary policy, perhaps even slightly “dovish”, meaning he is more likely to take growth prospects into account in the conduct of monetary policy than strict inflation “hawks” do.[3]

Early life and education

Praet is half-Belgian and half-German, his father being from Belgium and his mother from Germany. He graduated from Université libre de Bruxelles, with a BA in Economics, a MA in Economics in 1972, and PhD in Economics in 1980.[4]

Career

Praet was chief economist for Fortis Bank.[5] Between 1999 and 2000, he served as chief of staff to Belgian Finance Minister Didier Reynders.[6] In this capacity, his main task was to lay the ground for Reynders’ Eurogroup presidency in 2001 and oversee the country’s most ambitious tax-reform plan in decades.[7]

Praet was executive director of the National Bank of Belgium from 2000 to 2011. He was also a member of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and an alternate member of the Bank for International Settlements' Global Economy Meeting.[8]At the same time, he was professor of Monetary Economics at the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management.[9]

European Central Bank, 2011–present

Before being finally elected, Praet had already made several attempts to join the ECB Board. In 2004, his candidacy failed when the German, French, Italian and Spanish governments agreed that each should always have a national on the six-member board and chose José Manuel González-Páramo. In 2010, when Praet sought the bank’s vice-presidency, governments agreed that the position should go to a sitting governor of a central bank and not, as Praet then was, a director;[10] as a consequence, Vítor Constâncio was chosen to replace Lucas Papademos as vice-president.[11] In 2011, Praet replaced Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell; the other candidate for the position had been Elena Kohútiková.[12][13]

Praet's assignment as head of the economics department at the ECB, which prepares recommendations on interest rate decisions[14] superseded recommendations in favor of French and German counterparts.[15][16] It was the first time in the bank’s then 13-year history that the economics portfolio was given to a non-German.[17]

Other activities

References

  1. ↑ Belgian Peter Praet chosen to enter European Central Bank’s Executive Board - Newsroom - Homepage - Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation
  2. ↑ Erstmals kein Deutscher: Belgier Peter Praet wird neuer Chefvolkswirt der EZB - Wirtschaft - FAZ
  3. ↑ Catherine Evans (February 14, 2011), EU ministers choose Belgian Praet for ECB board job Reuters.
  4. ↑ ECB: Peter Praet
  5. ↑ PROFILE: Tough-talking Euro Group chief | European Voice
  6. ↑ Tim Jones (June 8, 2011), Free-wheeling economist European Voice.
  7. ↑ Tim Jones (November 29, 2000), Tough-talking Euro Group chief European Voice.
  8. ↑ Catherine Evans (February 14, 2011), EU ministers choose Belgian Praet for ECB board job Reuters.
  9. ↑ http://www.solvay.edu/news/post/peter-praet-becomes-economist-chief-ecb
  10. ↑ Tim Jones (June 8, 2011), Free-wheeling economist European Voice.
  11. ↑ Jim Brunsden (February 15, 2010), Portugal wins vice-presidency of ECB European Voice.
  12. ↑ Simon Taylor (February 14, 2011), Belgian chosen for ECB post European Voice.
  13. ↑ Catherine Evans (February 14, 2011), EU ministers choose Belgian Praet for ECB board job Reuters.
  14. ↑ Ralph Atkins (January 3, 2012), Draghi risks German ire on top job Financial Times.
  15. ↑ Wishart, Ian, "Peter Praet named as ECB chief economist" (log in required), EuropeanVoice.com, January 3, 2012.
  16. ↑ Mahler, Armin, "Draghi Walks the Tightrope of National Sensitivities", analysis, Spiegel, January 4, 2012.
  17. ↑ Ralph Atkins (January 3, 2012), Draghi risks German ire on top job Financial Times.
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