New appointments at the Riksbank

At its meeting on 3 October, the Executive Board of the Riksbank decided to appoint the Head of the Monetary Policy Department Claes Berg advisor to the future Governor Lars Heikensten with effect from 1 January 2003. The Board also decided that the Head of the Research Department, Anders Vredin, should succeed Mr Berg as Head of the Monetary Policy Department.

"Claes Berg and Anders Vredin are two extremely well-qualified economists, with thorough experience of monetary policy analysis and assessment, and in their new roles they will be able to contribute perspectives central to the Riksbank and its operations," said Lars Heikensten, commenting on the decision.

"I am pleased that we can make the best use of both of their knowledge and experience in this way," continued Mr Heikensten. "It will contribute to keeping the Riksbank at the forefront of monetary policy analysis," said Heikensten.

Mr Berg and Mr Vredin will both continue to sit on the Riksbank's Drafting Committee for Monetary and Foreign Exchange Policy, in which senior officials at the bank discuss the basis for the monetary policy decisions.

Mr Berg has a PhD and has been Head of the Monetary Policy Department since 1996. Prior to that, he was deputy head of the department for three years. Mr Vredin has been Head of the Research Department from its foundation in 1996. He is an associate professor in economics and has previously worked as researcher at the Stockholm School of Economics and at the Trade Union Institute for Economic Research (FIEF).

The Monetary Policy Department is responsible for the bank's monetary policy analysis and produces the reports on which the Executive Board's decisions in this field are made. The department's work also includes monitoring and continual analysis of the Swedish and international economies, as well as producing the bank's balance of payments statistics.

For further information, please contact:

Lars Heikensten, tel. +46-8-787 01 41, Claes Berg, tel. +46-8-787 01 83, Anders Vredin, tel. +46-8-787 04 93