Lagarde to leave ECB presidency on 7 February 2027

The European Central Bank announced on 29 October that Christine Lagarde will leave the presidency of the institution on 7 February 2027. The date brings forward by nearly nine months the natural conclusion of her mandate, set for 31 October 2027.

The ECB states that the successor will be appointed by the European Council according to the procedure set out in Article 283 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the same mechanism through which Lagarde was designated at the start of her mandate.

Lagarde’s departure fits into an already busy schedule of handovers within the executive board of the Frankfurt-based institution. According to El País, Isabel Schnabel’s term on the executive board also expires on 3 January 2027, while Philip Lane’s is due to expire on 1 June. Within the span of a few months, the ECB will therefore find itself simultaneously renewing several key figures at its top level.

The decision to bring forward the departure relative to the end-October 2027 deadline now opens the race for succession at the helm of the institution that sets monetary policy for the euro area. The procedure under Article 283 provides for the European Council to decide on the appointment of the president, on a recommendation from the ECB’s Governing Council and after consulting the European Parliament.

Still to be determined, in addition to the name of Lagarde’s successor, are the replacements for Schnabel and Lane on the executive board, two seats that will become vacant a few months apart from each other in 2027. The ECB’s official statement does not, at this time, indicate a path or timetable for these two additional appointments.

The news comes from two independent sources: the official statement from the European Central Bank and El País’s account, which adds the detail of Schnabel’s and Lane’s expiring terms on the institution’s executive board.