If parliament votes in favour Santos Pereira, who has prior experience in the Portuguese government, he will succeed Mario Centeno, who has led the Bank of Portugal since July 2020.
Portugal’s centre-right government has thus decided not to keep Centeno, a former finance minister and Eurogroup president, who was named under socialist ex-leader Antonio Costa.
“We chose someone who seemed better” placed to respond “to the objectives we have fixed for the central bank”, said government spokesman Antonio Leitao Amaro. Santos Pereira “is an expert on the Portuguese economy, the global economy, the financial system and a recognised voice on the international stage”, he added.
After obtaining his doctorate in economics from Canada’s Simon Fraser University, Santos Pereira served as minister of economy and employment between 2011 and 2013 under the centre-right government of Pedro Passos Coelho. His ministerial portfolio also encompassed industry, trade and services, tourism, energy, public works and transport.
Portugal’s parliament will vote on Santos Pereira’s nomination in the coming weeks, the spokesman said, adding that Centeno would retain his functions until that point.
