Christine Lagarde says she will step down as President of the European Central Bank on 7 February 2027

29 October 2026

Christine Lagarde has told the Governing Council of the European Central Bank and the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, that she will step down as ECB President on 7 February 2027. The bank announced this in a press release from Frankfurt. Her departure is early, since an ECB President serves a single non-renewable term of eight years. Her successor is chosen by the European Council. That appointment route is laid down in the EU treaties, at Article 283 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The ECB is the central bank for the countries that use the euro, and its President chairs both the Governing Council, which sets interest rates, and the Executive Board. Lagarde, a former Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, became the first woman to head the ECB.