Please note this page has been updated on 30th July to incorporate the interview with Odile Renaud Basso.
The EBRD’s board of Governors, representing its 71 shareholders, will elect a new president to succeed Sir Suma Chakrabarti this autumn for a 4-year term. CGD’s Mikaela Gavas sits down with the three nominated candidates to discuss their visions for the Bank’s future of the candidates. Please see below for the full interviews and transcripts.
Historically, until the appointment of Suma Chakrabati in 2012, the EBRD Presidency was mostly a matter of political horse-trading behind closed doors, with the nationals of France and Germany alternating in the top spot. At the Center for Global Development, we believe this appointment should not be based on nationality, in some political trade-off between unrelated institutions, but on the basis of merit and substance. The election is held in a closed session of the Board of Governors, with Governors voting by secret ballot. We hope to make our own modest contribution to this by offering a public forum for the candidates to discuss their vision for the future of the EBRD.
The three candidates for the EBRD Presidency are: Tadeusz Koscinski, Minister of Finance of the Republic of Poland; Pier Carlo Padoan, Member of the Italian Parliament; and Odile Renaud Basso, Director General, French Treasury, Ministry of Economy and Finance. Their CVs and statements can be found here.
There is no doubt that the choice of the next president of the EBRD will have important real-world consequences, as the Bank faces an uncertain future on several fronts. The EBRD, initially established in 1991 as a “gap-filler” enabling the transition to market economies in the former Eastern bloc, now faces new issues as it considers a possible expansion of countries of operation into Sub-Saharan Africa. Further uncertainties surround the EBRD’s future role in the wider development finance architecture as well as its role in the global post-COVID-19 economic recovery.
See below for the full interviews and transcripts from the candidates. Please see here CGD’s blog on the interviews.
Tadeusz Kościński
See transcript of the interview here.
Pier Carlo Padoan
See transcript of the interview here.
Odile Renaud Basso
See transcript of the interview here.
