Christine Lagarde will step down as President of the European Central Bank on 7 February 2027, the ECB announced on Thursday, ending her tenure around nine months before her term was due to expire in October 2027.
“European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde today informed the Governing Council and the President of the European Council António Costa that she will step down from her position on 7 February 2027,” the ECB said in a statement.
Lagarde, who has led the ECB since November 2019 after running the International Monetary Fund and serving as France’s finance minister, explained that she wanted “the freedom of speech, the freedom of expression and the freedom to engage on matters that are not monetary policy matters.”
Costa said the process to appoint her successor would begin immediately and “proceed without delay”. Former Dutch central bank governor Klaas Knot and former Bank of Spain governor Pablo Hernández de Cos are widely seen as the frontrunners.
The announcement came on the same day the ECB held its main interest rate at 2.5%, and it lands in the middle of a sensitive political moment in France, where a presidential election campaign is approaching.
Her departure gives current EU leaders the chance to settle the succession well before that election — and before whoever leads France next can weigh in on one of Europe’s most powerful jobs.
Sources: Reuters — “ECB President Lagarde resigns, effective Feb 7” (29 Oct 2026); ECB statement via Reuters.
