Biography

• Born on 22 December 1942 in Lyon.
• He attended the Ecole nationale supérieure des Mines de Nancy, from which he graduated in 1964 as an “Ingénieur civil des Mines”. In 1966 he graduated from the Institut d’études politiques de Paris and was also awarded a bachelor’s degree in economics. He subsequently gained initial experience in the competitive sector as an engineer. From 1969 to 1971 he attended the elite Ecole nationale d’administration (ENA).
• In 1971 he joined the Ministry of Economics and Finance, subsequently holding various positions in the French civil service. In 1978 he was appointed as an adviser in the general secretariat of the then President of France Valéry Giscard d’Estaing.
• In 1987 he took over the leadership of the French Treasury. He subsequently represented France in, among others, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and in the negotiations for Economic and Monetary Union.
• From 1993 to 2003 he was Governor of the Banque de France.
• On 1 November 2003 he began his eight-year term of office as President of the European Central Bank.