Odile Renaud-Basso, Director General of the French Ministry of Economy and Finance, was elected President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on Thursday. Its only competitor was the Polish Minister of Finance, Tadeusz Kościński.
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Renaud-Basso was considered to be the favorite of the elections from the very beginning, especially when the third candidate, the former Italian minister of economy Pier Carlo Padoan, resigned from applying for the position of the head of the bank.
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Odile Renaud Basso’s competitor was Tadeusz Kościński. “The candidacy of the Minister of Finance for the position of the head of the EBRD is an accepted practice. It is a great honor for me, thank you for your trust. At the same time, I assure you that this candidacy will not interfere with my duties as the Minister of Finance,” he informed in February.
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On its Twitter profile, the Ministry of Finance posted congratulations from the Minister of Finance, Funds and Regional Policy, Tadeusz Kościński, who wrote that it was a pleasure for him to compete with the French for the president of the bank. “I wish you good luck and only success” – he noted.
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The first woman in this position
The newly elected president will replace the British Suma Chakrabarti, whose second term ended in early July. Since then, Juergen Rigterink has acted as president.
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Renaud-Basso will be the first female head of the EBRD. However, never before has the head of a bank been a representative of the country receiving the bank’s investment, which Kościński was striving for. – It is a great honor for me to be elected the new president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, a truly unique institution. I would like to express my thanks to all the countries that have supported my candidacy and with whom I have had numerous and fruitful discussions over the past few months. I look forward to working with all stakeholders, management and staff in the coming months to implement the ambitious roadmap that has just been agreed at the annual meeting, the French announced after her win.
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