Alfons Verplaetse
Encyclopedia
Alfons "Fons", Viscount Verplaetse is a Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 economist and former Governor of the National Bank of Belgium
National Bank of Belgium
The National Bank of Belgium has been the central bank of Belgium since 1850...

 (NBB) from 1989 until 1999. He was one of the architects of the devaluation of Belgian Frank in 1982 when he worked at the cabinet of Wilfried Martens
Wilfried Martens
Wilfried Martens is a Belgian politician. He was born in Sleidinge . Martens was the 44th Prime Minister of Belgium from 3 April 1979 to 6 April 1981 and 17 December 1981 to 7 March 1992....

 in the government Martens V. As governor of the NBB, he prepared the entry of Belgium to the euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...

 in 1999.

Career

After he graduated in commercial sciences, Alfons Verplaetse started his career at NBB the in 1953, where he worked at the Research department. In 1982, in the government Martens V
Wilfried Martens
Wilfried Martens is a Belgian politician. He was born in Sleidinge . Martens was the 44th Prime Minister of Belgium from 3 April 1979 to 6 April 1981 and 17 December 1981 to 7 March 1992....

, he was seconded to the Prime Minister’s Office as associate chief of staff and subsequently as head of the Economic Office until 1987. Together with Jacques van Ypersele de Strihou
Jacques van Ypersele de Strihou
Jacques van Ypersele de Strihou , is the Principal Private Secretary to the King of Belgium. When Albert II of Belgium succeeded his brother Baudouin I of Belgium, he kept his private secretary, so Jacques van Ypersele de Strihou has served two kings...

, he was one of the architects of the economic recovery policy launched by the February 1982 devaluation of the Belgian franc
Belgian franc
The franc was the currency of Belgium until 2002 when the euro was introduced into circulation. It was subdivided into centimes , 100 centiem or Centime .-History:...

.

He was appointed as a director of the NBB in 1985 and became vice-governor in 1988 and succeeded Jean Godeaux
Jean Godeaux
Baron Jean Godeaux was a Belgian economist, civil servant and former governor of the National Bank of Belgium from 1982 until 1989.Jean Godeaux studied both law and economics, and started his career in 1947 at the NBB in the Foreign Affairs department. From 1949 until 1955, he was a member of the...

 as governor in 1989. In 1990, the Belgian franc was linked to the German mark
German mark
The Deutsche Mark |mark]], abbreviated "DM") was the official currency of West Germany and Germany until the adoption of the euro in 2002. It is commonly called the "Deutschmark" in English but not in German. Germans often say "Mark" or "D-Mark"...

, in order to stabilise the Belgian currency. The reform of the Belgian monetary policy instruments in 1991 was another step to stabilise and improve the Belgian monetary situation.

An important challenge of his tenure as governor of the NBB was the European monetary integration, which was initiated under Jacques Delors
Jacques Delors
Jacques Lucien Jean Delors is a French economist and politician, the eighth President of the European Commission and the first person to serve three terms in that office .-French Politics:...

. Alfons Verplaetse became a member of the board of governors of the European Monetary Institute
European Monetary Institute
The European Monetary Institute was the forerunner of the European Central Bank , operating between 1994 and 1997.-History:The EMI was created 1 January 1994 to oversee the second stage in the creation of monetary union. The EMI itself took over from the earlier European Monetary Cooperation Fund...

 in 1994 and of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank
European Central Bank
The European Central Bank is the institution of the European Union that administers the monetary policy of the 17 EU Eurozone member states. It is thus one of the world's most important central banks. The bank was established by the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1998, and is headquartered in Frankfurt,...

 in 1998.

He remained in office until 1999 to oversee the introduction of the euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...

 to replace the Belgian franc
Belgian franc
The franc was the currency of Belgium until 2002 when the euro was introduced into circulation. It was subdivided into centimes , 100 centiem or Centime .-History:...

, on 1 January 1999, as the official currency of Belgium. After his retirement as governor of the NBB, he made his expertise available in the service of economic and financial development in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He was succeeded by Guy Quaden
Guy Quaden
Guy, Baron Quaden is a Belgian economist and since 1 March 1999 Governor of the National Bank of Belgium. He is a member of the Council of governing board and of the general Council of the European Central Bank...

 as governor of the NBB.

Sources

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