Vice-President Kettel Thomsen leaves EIB to take helm of Danish Central Bank

• Kettel Thomsen has served in the EIB’s Management Committee since Sept. 2020
• His successor will be appointed by EU member states, the shareholders of the EIB
• President Hoyer thanked Kettel Thomsen for his service

European Investment Bank (EIB) Vice-President Christian Kettel Thomsen has informed President Werner Hoyer of his decision to resign from the Management Committee, in order to take the helm of Danmarks Nationalbank, the Danish central bank.

An economist by training, Kettel Thomsen started his term as EIB Vice-President on 01 September 2020 after a long and distinguished career in Denmark’s ministry of finance and, more recently, as Permanent Secretary of State, Prime Minister’s Office. With effect from 1 February, 2023, he has been appointed as Governor by Royal Appointment and Chairman of the Board of Governors of Danmarks Nationalbank.

“Christian is a knowledgeable leader who commands the utmost respect among EIB colleagues and our partners across the world,” President Hoyer said. “I would like to thank him for his service to the EU bank. The entire EIB family wholeheartedly congratulates him, and wishes him well in his new, demanding, duties.”

Kettel Thomsen’s areas of oversight included EIB’s activities in Denmark, Greece, Ireland, and Romania, as well as financing of urban development, housing and agribusiness. EU member states, which are shareholders of the EIB, will now appoint his successor. Until then, President Hoyer will assume oversight of Kettel Thomsen’s responsibilities.

“I am grateful for the support, hard work and dedication of my colleagues at the EIB since I joined its ranks in 2020,” Kettel Thomsen said. “EIB financing helps safeguard EU’s energy security and the competitiveness of our economies, while leading the world toward a just transition to climate neutrality. It’s been an honor and a pleasure to contribute to this invaluable effort.”