The Eurogroup will discuss on 19 January the six candidacies submitted to succeed Luis de Guindos as vice‑president of the European Central Bank (ECB), in a race that includes the name of the former governor of the Bank of Portugal, Mário Centeno. The information was confirmed by the president of the Eurogroup in a statement released this Friday, after the deadline ...
Eurogroup to assess candidates for ECB vice‑presidency on 19 January
Friday, 9 January 2026RSS
Context & Explainers
The Eurogroup is a meeting of finance ministers from the 20 European Union countries that use the Euro currency. It coordinates economic policies and manages financial stability, including responses to energy price volatility caused by global conflicts. Residents should note that its decisions influence inflation and the broader economic environment across the Eurozone.
- 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.
