Croatian central banker Boris Vujcic was selected as the next Vice President of the European Central Bank.
Vujcic is a classic continuity pick. He’s been governor of Croatia’s central bank since 2012 and spent much of that time doing the unglamorous but important work of getting the country ready for the euro. When Croatia finally joined the euro in 2023, it went smoothly, which is a strong endorsement of his skills.
He’s not known as a big speechmaker or a policy entrepreneur. In Governing Council meetings he’s been pragmatic, inflation-aware, and generally aligned with the ECB consensus. He supported aggressive action when inflation surged but hasn’t pushed for experimentation or political messaging. Markets tend to see him as steady hands rather than a signal of change.
The appointment also fits the ECB’s internal logic. With Lagarde still president and de Guindos coming from Spain, Vujcic brings balance as a technocrat from a newer euro-area member rather than a heavyweight political figure from a big country.
This is a win for the new Eurozone member and was likely some kind of trade-off as Portugal’s Mario Centeno was seen as the front-runner. You wonder if he might get some support for the ECB Presidency next year instead, though the main touted candidates are Knot, de Cos and Schnabel.
The final candidates for the ECB Vice Presidency were said to be:
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Martins Kazaks – Governor, Bank of Latvia (Latvia)
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Olli Rehn — Governor, Bank of Finland (Finland)
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Boris Vujčić — Governor, Croatian National Bank (Croatia)
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Madis Müller — Governor, Eesti Pank (Estonia)
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Rimantas Šadžius — Former Minister of Finance (Lithuania)
