Donohoe nominates Philip Lane for ECB executive board
Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has nominated Central Bank governor Philip Lane for a top spot at the ECB in a year that will see key leadership posts change hands at the monetary authority for the 19-country eurozone and its 340 million people.
Minister Donohoe has put Mr Lane forward for the spot on the ECB's six-member executive board that is currently held by Belgium's Peter Praet, whose eight-year term expires on May 31.
Mr Lane has been mentioned prominently in media speculation about who will take over Mr Praet's responsibilities as the powerful economics chief, responsible for proposing monetary policy moves to the 25-member rate-setting council.
It is not automatic, however, that Mr Praet's replacement would be assigned the same duties by bank president Mario Draghi.
Eurozone leaders will decide on the post in coming weeks.
Mr Draghi himself is coming to the end of his term on October 31.
Speculation about candidates to replace him has focused on former Finnish central bank head Erkki Liikanen, Bank of France head Francois Villeroy de Galhau and Jens Weidmann, head of Germany's Bundesbank central bank.
Mr Lane is a former economics professor who has been on the ECB rate-setting council due to his job as governor of the Central Bank here.
He was a candidate last year for the ECB vice president job that ultimately went to former Spanish economy minister Luis de Guindos.
