Mario Draghi (ˈmaːrjo ˈdraːɡi; born 3 September 1947) is an
ItalianItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
banker and economist who succeeded
Jean-Claude TrichetJean-Claude Trichet is a French civil servant who was the president of the European Central Bank, a position he held from 2003 to 2011. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlements...
as
President of the European Central Bank on 1 November 2011. He was previously the governor of the
Bank of ItalyBanca d'Italia is the central bank of Italy and part of the European System of Central Banks. It is located in Palazzo Koch, Roma, via Nazionale...
from January 2006 until October 2011.
Biography
He was born in
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Draghi graduated from La Sapienza University of Rome under the supervision of
Federico CaffèFederico Caffè was an Italian economist.- Biography :Caffè was born at Pescara.In 1936 he graduated in business sciences at the University of Rome La Sapienza. He started his career working at the Bank of Italy, later becoming a teacher at the University of Messina...
, then earned a PhD in economics from the
Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyThe Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
in 1976 under the supervision of
NobelThe Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, commonly referred to as the Nobel Prize in Economics, but officially the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel , is an award for outstanding contributions to the field of economics, generally regarded as one of the...
Laureates
Franco ModiglianiFranco Modigliani was an Italian economist at the MIT Sloan School of Management and MIT Department of Economics, and winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics in 1985.-Life and career:...
and
Robert SolowRobert Merton Solow is an American economist particularly known for his work on the theory of economic growth that culminated in the exogenous growth model named after him...
. He was full professor at the
University of FlorenceThe University of Florence is a higher study institute in Florence, central Italy. One of the largest and oldest universities in the country, it consists of 12 faculties...
from 1981 until 1991.
From 1984 to 1990 he was the Italian Executive Director at the
World BankThe World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
. In 1991, he became director general of the Italian
TreasuryA treasury is either*A government department related to finance and taxation.*A place where currency or precious items is/are kept....
, and held this office until 2001. During his time at the Treasury, he chaired the committee that revised Italian corporate and financial legislation and drafted the law that governs Italian financial markets. He is also a former board member of several banks and corporations (
EniEni S.p.A. is an Italian multinational oil and gas company, present in 70 countries, and currently Italy's largest industrial company with a market capitalization of 87.7 billion euros , as of July 24, 2008...
,
IRIThe Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale was an Italian public company set up by the fascist government in 1933 to combat the effects of the global depression on the Italian economy...
,
BNLBanca Nazionale del Lavoro SpA is an Italian banking firm. Founded in 1913 as Istituto di Credito per la Cooperazione, it was nationalized in 1929. It was re-privatized and listed on the Milan Stock Exchange in 1998, before being acquired by French banking group BNP Paribas in 2006...
and IMI).
Draghi was then vice chairman and managing director of
Goldman SachsThe Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
International and a member of the firm-wide management committee (2002–2005). A controversy existed on his duties while employed at
Goldman SachsThe Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
.
Pascal CanfinPascal Canfin is a French politician. He is a Member of the European Parliament elected in the 2009 European election for the Île-de-France constituency.-Biography:...
(
MEPThe European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
) asserted Draghi was involved in swaps for European governments, namely Greece, trying to disguise their countries' economic status. Draghi responded that the deals were "undertaken before my joining Goldman Sachs [and] I had nothing to do with" them, in the 2011 European Parliament nomination hearings.
Draghi is a trustee at the
Institute for Advanced StudyThe Institute for Advanced Study, located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, is an independent postgraduate center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It was founded in 1930 by Abraham Flexner...
in
Princeton, New JerseyPrinceton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
and also at the
Brookings InstitutionThe Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., in the United States. One of Washington's oldest think tanks, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and...
, in Washington, D.C.. He has been a Fellow of the Institute of Politics at the
John F. Kennedy School of GovernmentThe John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is a public policy and public administration school, and one of Harvard's graduate and professional schools...
,
Harvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
In his capacity as Bank of Italy governor, he was a member of the Governing and General Councils of the
European Central BankThe 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,...
and a member of the Board of Directors of the
Bank for International SettlementsThe Bank for International Settlements is an intergovernmental organization of central banks which "fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks." It is not accountable to any national government...
. He is also governor for Italy on the Boards of Governors of the
International Bank for Reconstruction and DevelopmentThe International Bank for Reconstruction and Development is one of five institutions that compose the World Bank Group. The IBRD is an international organization whose original mission was to finance the reconstruction of nations devastated by World War II. Now, its mission has expanded to fight...
and the
Asian Development BankThe Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established on 22 August 1966 to facilitate economic development of countries in Asia...
. In April 2006 he was elected Chairman of the Financial Stability Forum, which became
Financial Stability BoardThe Financial Stability Board is an international body that monitors and makes recommendations about the global financial system. It was established after the 2009 G-20 London summit in April 2009 as a successor to the Financial Stability Forum. The Board includes all G-20 major economies, FSF...
in spring 2009.
ECB candidacy
Draghi was frequently mentioned as a potential successor to
Jean-Claude TrichetJean-Claude Trichet is a French civil servant who was the president of the European Central Bank, a position he held from 2003 to 2011. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlements...
, whose term as President of the
European Central BankThe 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,...
ended in October 2011. Then, in January 2011, German weekly newspaper
Die ZeitDie Zeit is a German nationwide weekly newspaper that is highly respected for its quality journalism.With a circulation of 488,036 and an estimated readership of slightly above 2 million, it is the most widely read German weekly newspaper...
reported, with reference to high-ranking policy-makers in Germany and France, that it is "unlikely" that Draghi will be picked as Trichet's successor. However, in February 2011 the situation became further complicated when the main German candidate,
Axel WeberAxel Alfred Weber is a German economist, professor and banker. He teaches at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and is a board member and prospective chairman of UBS...
, was reported to be no longer seeking the job, reviving the chances of the other candidates. On 13 February 2011 Wolfgang Münchau, associate editor of the
Financial TimesThe Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
, endorsed Draghi as the best candidate for the abovementioned position. A few days later
The EconomistThe Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
wrote that "the next president of the world’s second-most-important central bank should be Mario Draghi". On 20 April 2011
The Wall Street Journal reported that "Wolfgang Schäuble, Germany's finance minister, is open to Mr. Draghi for the post of ECB President". A few days later the German newspaper
Bild endorsed Draghi by defining him the "most German of all remaining candidates". Contrary to previous reports about France's position, on 25 April it was reported that Sarkozy now sees Draghi as a full-fledged and an adequate candidate for the job.
On 17 May 2011 the Council of the European Union –
EcofinThe Economic and Financial Affairs Council is one of the oldest configurations of the Council of the European Union and is composed of the Economics and Finance Ministers of the 27 European Union member states, as well as Budget Ministers when budgetary issues are discussed.ECOFIN often works with...
– adopted a recommendation on the nomination of Draghi as President of the ECB. On 24 June 2011 Draghi's appointment was confirmed by the European leaders officially as new president of the European Central Bank. This occurred after he was approved by the
European ParliamentThe European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
and the European Central Bank itself. Draghi has begun leading the
FrankfurtFrankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
-based institution when Trichet's non-renewable eight-year term has expired on 31 October 2011, and Draghi's term would run from 1 November 2011 to 31 October 2019. Though France long backed Draghi's candidacy, the country had held up the appointment toward the end, insisting that
Lorenzo Bini SmaghiLorenzo Bini Smaghi is an Italian economist who has been a Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank from June 2005 to November 2011...
, an Italian official on the ECB's six-member board, cede his post on the board to a French representative. There were concerns that his past employment at
Goldman SachsThe Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
would hinder his path to the position, although in the end this doesn't appear to have occurred.
Awards and honors
- 2000 Knight grand cross OMRI
Omri was a king of Israel, successful military campaigner and first in the line of Omride kings that included Ahab, Ahaziah and Joram.He was "commander of the army" of king Elah when Zimri murdered Elah and made himself king. Instead, the troops at Gibbethon chose Omri as king, and he led them to...
- 2009 honorary distinction in Statistics (University of Padua)
- 2010 honorary Master in Business administration (Vicenza, CUOA foundation).
External links
|-