The World’s Longest Serving Central Bank Governor Has the Backing for Another Term

The World’s Longest Serving Central Bank Governor Has the Backing for Another Term

(Bloomberg) -- The world’s longest serving central bank governor is poised to expand his tenure as Romania’s ruling party plans to support Mugur Isarescu for another term during a vote next week in Parliament.

Isarescu, who leads the National Bank of Romania, will probably be handed a new five-year term as the ruling coalition has a majority in Parliament -- the opposition parties have also expressed support for him. In his job since 1990, the 69-year-old has lived through everything from hyperinflation and his country being on the brink of bankruptcy to the global financial crisis of 2008.

The ruling Social Democrats will also support first deputy governor Florin Georgescu for a new term, according to Parliament speaker Marcel Ciolacu.

“Both Isarescu and Georgescu have our support,” Ciolacu said in a interview in Bucharest on Saturday. “The other names for the central bank board are still being debated.”

The central bank faces challenges. Economic expansion is set to slow, the country’s inflation is the fastest in the EU and its budget deficit is forecast to blast through the bloc’s limits. Presidential and parliamentary elections in the next two years add further uncertainty.

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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