BOE Governor Carney Fulfills Promise by Becoming U.K. Citizen

(Bloomberg) -- Mark Carney became a British citizen on Wednesday, fulfilling a promise made when he accepted the job of Bank of England governor in 2012.

The Canadian central banker’s wife is British, and he already had an Irish passport. He acquired U.K. nationality by taking an oath to the Queen after fulfilling the requirements for naturalization. Those include at least three years of residence in the country, as well passing a “life in the U.K.” test.

The mayor of the London borough of Camden tweeted a photo of Carney at his citizenship ceremony, which included 40 other local residents from 26 different countries.

Carney is due to leave the BOE in January 2020 and has said he plans to return to Canada then. He’s already extended his stay at the central bank twice because of Brexit, and hasn’t revealed what he might do after he steps down.

Carney pledged to seek U.K. citizenship when he became the first foreigner to be appointed governor in the BOE’s three-century history. The news was welcomed by George Osborne, the former chancellor of the exchequer who hired him.

To contact the reporter on this story: Fergal O'Brien in Zurich at fobrien@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Craig Stirling at cstirling1@bloomberg.net, Brian Swint, Paul Gordon

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.