Klaas Knot put forward to succeed Lagarde at ECB

The Netherlands has officially nominated Klaas Knot as a candidate for president of the European Central Bank (ECB). The Ministry of Finance announced it in a letter to the Tweede Kamer. Knot is the former president of De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB).

The post is becoming vacant because Lagarde is stepping down early, in February. Member states have until Friday to submit their candidates. Knot's main rival appears to be the Spaniard Pablo Hernández de Cos, governor of the Spanish central bank from 2018 to 2024.

Knot stepped down at DNB in the middle of last year after fourteen years in the job. He has been mentioned for months as a possible successor to Lagarde.

The eurozone finance ministers will take stock of the nominated candidates next week, on 9 November.

The new president needs a qualified majority among the eurozone countries: 16 of the 21 must back the candidate, and together they must represent at least 65% of the eurozone population.

The Netherlands has supplied an ECB president once before. Wim Duisenberg was the bank's first president, from 1998 to 2003, and played a key role in introducing the euro.