Luis María Linde de Castro (born May 15, 1945 in Madrid) is a Spanish economist and civil servant who has served as governor of the Spanish Central Bank from 2012 until 2018.

Early life and education

Linde graduated with a degree in economic sciences from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid with top marks.

Career

Linde was the trade attaché at the Spanish embassy in the Soviet Union and worked for the

Ministry of Economy A ministry of economy, ministry of commerce, ministry of economic affairs or department of commerce is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the economy or economic policy. List Examples of such mini ...

. In 1983, he was appointed to the Banco de España. Between 2005 and 2008 he was executive for Spain in the

Inter-American Development Bank The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or IADB) is an international financial institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States of America, and serving as the largest source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribb ...

. On May 25, 2012 Linde succeeded Vicente Salas as a member of the governing council of the Banco de España. A few days later

Miguel Ángel Fernández Ordóñez Miguel Ángel Fernández Ordóñez (born 3 April 1945) is a Spanish economist and politician, member of the Socialist Workers' Party and former Governor of the Bank of Spain. He is the younger brother of Francisco Fernández Ordóñez, also a ...

resigned as chairman of the bank and Linde was appointed. Another candidate for the post, who was favoured by the European Central Bank (ECB) and financial markets, was

José Manuel González Paramo José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

, a former member of the Executive Board of the ECB. Under the bank's statutes Linde will have to retire in three years when he turns 70, and will not therefore be able to complete a six-year term. Under Linde, who was named only two days before Spain requested a European bailout, the central bank came under fire for its handling of the banking crisis and maintained a neutral stance on economic policy. Due to the fact that Linde turned 70 halfway through his term of office in May 2015 and the Law of Autonomy of the Bank of Spain established the seventy years of age as a cause for dismissal, the Government decided to remove that section and took the opportunity to eliminate the need for the terms of office of the Governor and Deputy Governor to be simultaneous so that the dismissal of the Governor will not necessarily imply the dismissal of the Deputy Governor.

Other activities

International organizations

* International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ex-Officio Alternate Member of the Board of Governors, (2012-2018)

Non-profit organizations

* Fundación pro

Real Academia Española The Royal Spanish Academy ( es, Real Academia Española, generally abbreviated as RAE) is Spain's official royal institution with a mission to ensure the stability of the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, and is affiliated with ...

, Chairman * Official Credit Institute (ICO), Member of the Board of Directors * Princess of Asturias Foundation, Member of the Board of TrusteesBoard of Trustees
Princess of Asturias Foundation.

Corporate boards

* Compañía Española de Crédito a la Exportación (CESCE), Adviser to the Board of Directors (2009-2011)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Linde, Luis Maria Spanish economists Governors of the Bank of Spain 1945 births Living people Complutense University of Madrid alumni