The European Council decided today to appoint the current governor of the Croatian central bank, Boris Vujcic, to replace Luis de Guindos as vice-president of the European Central Bank starting in June for an eight-year term.
European Council appoints Boris Vujcic to replace Luis de Guindos in June
Thursday, 19 March 2026RSS
Context & Explainers
- Governor of Banco de Portugal (2020–present)
- Former: Minister of Finance (2015–2020), President of the Eurogroup (2018–2020)
- Party: Independent (PS-affiliated)
- Background: Economist (PhD, Harvard)
Mário José Gomes de Freitas Centeno (born 1966) is Portugal's central bank governor and one of the country's most internationally recognized economic figures. As Finance Minister under António Costa's first PS government, he became known as "Cristiano Ronaldo of European finance" for turning Portugal's deficit into a surplus while reversing austerity.
He was elected president of the Eurogroup (the informal body of euro area finance ministers) in 2018 — the first Portuguese to hold the role. Since becoming Governor of Banco de Portugal in 2020, he sits on the ECB's Governing Council and oversees Portuguese banking supervision and financial stability.
