New Governor of Bank of Finland to be appointed rapidly

Korkman, Liikanen, and entire Bank Board among applicants

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The appointment of a new Governor of the Bank of Finland is to be moved along briskly, according to remarks from the Chairman of the Parliamentary Supervisory Council. It is possible the Council could select their nominee already by Thursday evening.
      The appointment of a new Governor of the Bank of Finland is to be moved along briskly, according to remarks from the Chairman of the Parliamentary Supervisory Council. It is possible the Council could select their nominee already by Thursday evening.
      Speaking on Tuesday, the Council Chairman Olavi Ala-Nissilä (Centre Party) commented that the choice of replacement for outgoing Governor Matti Vanhala, who last month announced he would be retiring on a disability pension, should be made "sooner rather than later". If a decision is reached on the candidates this week, the matter could go before the government a week from now and President Tarja Halonen could name the new Governor on Friday of next week.
      By the end of the deadline for applications on Tuesday, a total of 33 individuals had thrown their hat into the ring, including EU Commissioner Erkki Liikanen and Sixten Korkman, Director-General of the Ecofin Council of the European Union, along with all three of the other members of the Bank's Board of Directors.
      Liikanen and Korkman, both of whom have naturally been working abroad for some years, have been called to meet with members of the Supervisory Council on Thursday afternoon. According to a statement from the Bank, "those of the other applicants who have declared their intent and who fulfil the requirements of the post are familiar to the Council from more recent connections".
     
One of the more important criteria in choosing a successor to Vanhala has been thought to be knowledge of the EU and its mone tary policy, since the Governor of the Bank of Finland is a member of the Governing Council of the ECB, the European Central Bank. The thinking is that Finland will only get its voice heard in such a forum if the Finnish representative has some international weight and the ability to express himself or herself.
      The major political parties - SDP, Centre Party, and National Coalition Party - have been quick to point out that expertise is above partisan politics or party affiliation on this issue. However, there has been some speculation that the Centre Party might not be too quick to rubber-stamp the appointment of an SDP candidate. Erkki Liikanen, for example, is a former Secretary of the SDP, and at least two other candidates are SDP members: the Bank's present Deputy Governor Matti Louekoski and Jukka Pekkarinen, the Director of the Labour Institute for Economic Research.
      The Governor of the Bank of Finland is appointed for a seven-year term. The Bank's Board can have a maximum of five members in addition to the Governor. Following Vanhala's resignation, the Board currently has three members.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Bank of Finland Governor opts for disability pension (12.3.2004)

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