Jiří Rusnok appointed CNB Governor
Jiří Rusnok (55) is to be the new Governor of the Czech National Bank. President Miloš Zeman appointed him for a term of six years starting on 1 July 2016 at a ceremony at Prague Castle today. Mr Rusnok is currently a member of the CNB Bank Board.
“I am greatly honoured to be able to stand at the helm of this unique and internationally acclaimed institution. My colleagues and I will do all we can to ensure that all the tasks conferred on us by law, particularly in the areas of price and financial stability and financial market supervision, continue to be performed with the utmost expertise and care and to the benefit of the Czech economy,” said Mr Rusnok.
Mr Rusnok will be the fourth governor of the CNB since its establishment in 1993. His predecessors were Josef Tošovský, Zdeněk Tůma and Miroslav Singer, whose current mandate will expire on 30 June 2016 and cannot be extended.
Mr Rusnok has been a member of the Bank Board, the supreme governing body of the CNB, since March 2014. He decided to prematurely terminate his first mandate due to the requirements arising from European law, which stipulates that a governor of a national central bank is appointed for a term of office of at least five years.
The CNB sees to price and financial stability and the sound operation of the financial system in the Czech Republic, issues banknotes and coins, manages the circulation of currency and interbank settlements, and supervises entities operating on the financial market.
The Bank Board has seven members. Besides Miroslav Singer and Jiří Rusnok, the current line-up includes Vice-Governors Mojmír Hampl and Vladimír Tomšík, and members Kamil Janáček, Lubomír Lízal and Pavel Řežábek. Kamil Janáček’s mandate will also end on 30 June 2016. Vojtěch Benda and Tomáš Nidetzký have already been appointed as new Bank Board members with effect from 1 July 2016.
Bank Board members are appointed for a term of six years and are not allowed to hold the position of member of the Bank Board more than twice.
Marek Zeman
Director, CNB Communications Division