Kristina Persson new Deputy Governor

The General Council of the Riksbank has today decided to appoint the present county governor in Jämtland, Kristina Persson, to the Executive Board of the Riksbank, which also entails the post of Deputy Governor.

Kristina Persson was born in 1945 and is a qualified economist. She has previously worked at the Ministry of Finance (1971-73), the Institute for Futures Studies (1973-76) and at the Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees (1986-93). She was a member of the Riksdag during 1993-95 and was a member of the Riksdag Committee on Finance. During the period 1994-96, she was a member of the General Council of the Riksbank and in 1995 she was a member of the European Parliament.

Kristina Persson will take up her new post on 1 February and is elected for a period of six years.

Reservation

The Deputy Chairman of the General Council Johan Gernandt, as well as Council members Mats Odell, Ingegerd Troedsson and Peter Egardt have entered a reservation against the General Council’s decision regarding selection of a new member of the Executive Board and Deputy Governor.

They are of the opinion that this selection can only be seen as a political appointment in the Riksbank and feel that this involves a risk of undermining the independence of the Riksbank. They consider that the principle applied to date regarding the selection of new members for the Executive Board, i.e. of appointing persons with both practical and theoretical experience from the Riksbank’s field of operations, as well as an understanding of the political system, should also have been applied on this occasion. It is unfortunate that the unanimity that has previously prevailed among the General Council when selecting new members for the Executive Board could not be maintained on this occasion.

As announced earlier, a press conference will be held at 3 p.m. at the Riksbank, Brunkebergstorg 11. Present at the press conference will be the Chairman of the General Council Sven Hulterström, Deputy Chairman Johan Gernandt and Kristina Persson. Admission to the press conference requires a valid press card.

Any questions can be answered by: Sven Hulterström, tel. +46-8-786 53 20 and
Johan Gernandt, tel. +46-8-670 66 01.