Eurozone finance ministers plan to make a decision on who should succeed Sabine Lautenschlaeger on the European Central Bank's executive board in November, aiming to keep the seat unfilled for as short a time as possible.
Germany's Ms. Lautenschlaeger announced Sept. 26 that she was leaving at the end of October, a surprise move that cuts short her term by more than two years. Her country is expected to reclaim the post — Europe's biggest economy has always had a seat on the board since the ECB was founded.
The decision who gets the post is made by eurozone finance ministers, who will invite bids at their meeting in Luxembourg on Oct. 9, a eurozone official told reporters Thursday in Brussels.
Among candidates in the running for the role are Isabel Schnabel and Volker Wieland, economic advisers to the German government, Bundesbank Vice President Claudia Buch, Marcel Fratzscher, who runs the DIW Berlin think tank, and Elga Bartsch, head of macro research at BlackRock Inc.
The finance chiefs also are set to sign of the appointment of Fabio Panetta of Italy to the ECB board next week. He'll succeed Benoit Coeure, who's 8-year term ends Dec. 31.
