If you are reading this news in an app, access the quiz here. The week just ending was marked by the announcement of Mário Centeno's candidacy for the post of Vice-President of the European Central Bank. 'After more than three decades at the Bank of Portugal and nearly ten years in office ...'
ECO Quiz: Did Mário Centeno announce his candidacy for the position of ECB Vice-President?
Saturday, 10 January 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.
