In a secret ballot at its meeting on Tuesday the Supervisory Board of Eesti Pank elected current Deputy Governor Ülo Kaasik as candidate for the position of the next Governor of the central bank. The Governor of Eesti Pank has an influential position when it comes to discussions on economics in Estonia. He is also a member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank, a body that takes interest rate decisions, steering monetary policy across the entire euro area.

The candidates for the position of Governor of Eesti Pank were Andrus Alber, Ülo Kaasik, Kilvar Kessler and Margus Rink.

“I would like to thank all the candidates, as they were highly prepared for their thorough interviews with the Supervisory Board of the central bank. The Governor of Eesti Pank has influence over the everyday life of people across Estonia and the whole of the European Union. Decisions are taken at the Governing Council of the European Central Bank that affect matters like loan interest rates and therefore inflation and the speed of economic growth across the whole euro area,” said Supervisory Board Chair Urmas Varblane.

At its meeting on 21 October, the Supervisory Board heard presentations given by the candidates and asked them questions. There are 11 members of the Eesti Pank Supervisory Board, so a candidate needed to get the majority of the votes to be successful. The candidate for the position of the Governor of Eesti Pank was elected after three rounds of voting.

Ülo Kaasik already had access to state secrets, and so no further security control by the Estonian Internal Security Service was required for him.

The term of office of Governor of Eesti Pank Madis Müller ends on 6 June 2026. By law it is the Supervisory Board of the central bank that chooses the candidate for Governor of the bank, and the candidate is then confirmed in office by the President of the Republic of Estonia. The term of the Governor of Eesti Pank is restricted by law to seven years and a Governor may not be appointed to office for more than one consecutive term.

Ülo Kaasik has been a Deputy Governor of Eesti Pank since 2011 and his areas of responsibility have included economic analysis and monetary policy preparations and operations. He is also a member of the Estonian Fiscal Council. He was previously head of the monetary policy department of Eesti Pank and an advisor on economics to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Estonia.

Additional information:
Viljar Rääsk
Head of Communications
Eesti Pank
6680 745, 5275 055
Email: [email protected]
Press enquiries: [email protected]