From Central Bank Governor to Leader

A quiz inspired by Mark Carney

Canada’s next Prime Minister Mark Carney is a former head of the country’s central bank. While economists-turned-political leaders are not hard to find, only a few have taken the path from central bank head to prime minister or president. This quiz explores this subset of economists. If there are other examples of central bank heads who later led their countries as prime minister/president, do mention them in the comments.

Questions:

1) Mark Carney is unique among central bank governors because he held the position in two different countries. Following Canada, where else did he helm the central bank?

2) He was governor of his country’s central bank from 1982 to 1985 and went on to initiate major economic reforms as finance minister during the 1990s. Later he served two terms as prime minister from 2004 to 2014. Who and which country?

3) He was governor of his country’s central bank from 2005 to 2011. He then headed the European Central Bank for eight years amid the eurozone financial crisis. In February 2021, he was named prime minister of a unity government tasked with pulling the country out of the coronavirus crisis and an economic slump. But he resigned in just over a year, as the fractious coalition crumbled. Who and which country?

4) This current leader of an African country has a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Pennsylvania. He worked at the International Monetary Fund as well as the BCEAO (Central Bank of West African States). He was governor of BCEAO from 1988 until 1990 when he was named finance minister of his home country following an economic crisis. Within months, the country’s longtime president appointed him prime minister. He had to leave after the president’s death in 1993 and a subsequent power struggle. In 2011 he was sworn in as president after a disputed election. He’s been in power ever since. Who and which county?

5) Mugur Isarescu is the longest-serving central bank governor anywhere in the world. He was first appointed to the role in 1990 and has held the position ever since, except for a stint as prime minister from 1999 to 2000 as a technocratic stop-gap leader following a political crisis. He was reappointed for another five-year term by parliament in 2024. Which country?

6) Josef Tosovky was named head of his country’s central bank in December 1989 after the fall of communism. He was in the role for most of the 1990s except for a short stint as a caretaker prime minister, after the previous PM resigned over a campaign financing scandal. During the time, he initiated banking privatisation and economic reforms that paved the way for his country’s entry into the European Union in 2004. Which country?

7) Fritz Alphonse Jean, an economist and former central bank governor last Friday took over the rotating presidency of his country’s transitional presidential council. The country has been struggling to contain gang violence. Which country?