Philip Lane appointed new Central Bank Governor
Philip Lane, an economics professor at Trinity College Dublin, has been named as the new Governor of the Central Bank.
He replaces Professor Patrick Honohan, who announced in May that he would retire by the end of the year. His retirement comes before his seven-year term as Governor was due to end in September 2016.
Professor Lane is also Director of the International Macroeconomics and Finance Programme at the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR).
He received his PhD in Economics from Harvard in 1995 and was assistant professor of Economics and International Affairs at Columbia University during 1995-1997 before returning to Dublin.
The Professor has also acted as an academic consultant for the European Central Bank, European Commission, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, OECD and the Asian Development Bank.
In a statement, Finance Minister Michael Noonan said that Professor Lane’s “outstanding economic, financial and policy making record ideally positioned him to lead the Central Bank in the coming years”.
Mr Noonan said that Professor Lane was chosen as the Government’s nomination to the position after an extensive national and international executive search process to identify suitably qualified candidates in Ireland and abroad.
Over 100 potential candidates were identified from around the world, with a wide-ranging and rigorous selection process resulting in the nomination of Professor Lane, the Minister added.
This was the first time such an open selection process was used for the appointment of the top job at the Central Bank Governor.
