LISBON, July 24 (Xinhua) -- The Portuguese government has named Alvaro Santos Pereira as the next governor of the Bank of Portugal. He will take office after the summer, replacing Mario Centeno, whose term formally ended on Sunday.
The nomination was announced Thursday after a cabinet meeting.
Pereira, a former economy minister under a centre-right government (2011-2013), is currently chief economist at the OECD.
In Portugal's history, there has been an informal tradition of balance, with the leadership of the Bank of Portugal and state-owned Caixa Geral de Depositos (CGD) typically split between figures from different political backgrounds -- one from the PSD, the other from the PS, and vice versa.
With Pereira now heading the central bank and Paulo Macedo -- a former health minister from the same government -- leading CGD, both top financial institutions are now run by individuals who once sat at the same cabinet table.
The appointment must be reviewed by Parliament, but the hearing is expected to take place in September after the summer recess.
Centeno, a former finance minister in Socialist governments, had expressed willingness to stay. His tenure saw several tensions with the government, including a recent audit request into the central bank's new Lisbon headquarters.
The new governor's five-year term will run through July 2030. ■
