Christine Lagarde’s term at the helm of the European Central Bank only ends in 2027, but speculation is already rife about who will succeed her, with Spain’s Pablo Hernández de Cos among the top potential contenders.
Unlike Lagarde, Hernández de Cos, 54, is an economist and a career central banker. He began his career at the Bank of Spain and first joined the ECB as an adviser to the executive board in the 2000s. He served as governor of the Bank of Spain from 2018 to 2024 and chaired the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision before moving to the Bank for International Settlements.
Seen as close to former ECB President Mario Draghi, Hernández de Cos helped restore the Bank of Spain’s reputation after missteps before and during the financial crisis, earning the respect of his European counterparts in the process.
His blend of senior central bank experience, regulatory responsibility and academic grounding gives him a reputation as a deeply technical, policy-driven figure — valued for his independence and command of European and global financial-stability issues. Spain, which has never held the ECB presidency, may have to compete against Germany for the top job. That could, counterintuitively, help him if other European countries balk at giving Berlin another powerful post.
Check out the full 10 to Watch list, the POLITICO 28: Class of 2026, and read the Letter from the Editors for an explanation of the thinking behind the ranking.