Yiannis Stournaras Appointed NBG Governor
Previous Greek Finance Minister Yiannis Stournaras will be positioned as the new National Bank of Greece Governor, as confirmed by the Bank today.
Stournaras will begin his post on June 19th, replacing George Provopoulos. His contemporary role places him as a European Central Bank Governing Council member.
The former Finance Minister is a seasoned economist, and directed the Hellenic think-tank IOBE, in addition to serving as a governmental economic advisor upon Greece's entry into the European Union. Stournaras is widely believed to have greatly assisted the nation out of bankruptcy, when he assumed his role as the Finance Minister in 2012.
During his term as the Finance Minister, Greece improved its bleak financial outlook and is predicted to surpass its six-year economic crisis. In addition, Athens returned to bond markets in April under Stournaras' reign.
Yet, Stournaras has been plagued by harsh judgements by bailout opposing bodies, who blamed him for administering painful spending cuts as mandated by the IMF and EU.
SYRIZA spokesman Panos Skourletis stated today on the party's website, "Mr. Stournaras will continue to defend the bailout policies from his new post", according to Kathimerini.
