Ardo Hillar Hansson (born 15 July 1958) is an Estonian economist. He was the Governor of

Bank of Estonia The Bank of Estonia () is the national central bank for Estonia within the Eurosystem. It was the Estonian central bank from 1919 to 2010 (albeit with a long suspension between 1940 and 1989), issuing the kroon. Name Like other central bank ...

from 2012 to 2019. He previously worked as a senior economist at the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

for several European countries, and chief of its Economic Policy Unit in China. He was one of three committeemen who were responsible for transitioning Estonia from the

Soviet ruble The ruble or rouble (; rus, рубль, r=rubl', p=rublʲ) was the currency of the Soviet Union. It was introduced in 1922 and replaced the Russian ruble#Imperial ruble (1704-1922), Imperial Russian ruble. One ruble was divided into 100 kopecks ...

to the

Estonian kroon The kroon (sign: KR; code: EEK) was the official currency of Estonia for two periods in history: 1928–1940 and 1992–2011. Between 1 January and 14 January 2011, the kroon circulated together with the euro, after which the euro became the sole ...

in 1992.

Early life and academia

Ardo Hansson was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

on 15 July 1958 to Estonian parents. His parents left Estonia in 1944, and he grew up with his sister Anne in Chicago's Estonian diaspora community. Hansson moved to

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

with his family at age 14 in 1972 where they joined the Estonian diaspora community in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

. He attended

Semiahmoo Secondary School Semiahmoo Secondary School ( ) is a public High school#Canada, high school in South Surrey, British Columbia, and is part of School District 36 Surrey. It was founded in 1940 as the first senior secondary school in South Surrey. The school serves g ...

. Hansson attended the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

from 1976 to 1980, where he received a bachelor's degree in economics. He was then hired by the university as a research assistant and worked there until 1982 when he began studying at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. He made his first visits to Estonia, then part of the Soviet Union, in 1982 and 1985. Conversely, upcoming Estonian political figures like

Mart Laar Mart Laar (born 22 April 1960) is an Estonian politician and historian. He served as the Prime Minister of Estonia from 1992 to 1994 and from 1999 to 2002. Laar is credited with having helped bring about Estonia's Economy_of_Estonia#Restoration_o ...

and Trivimi Velliste visited the Estonian community in Canada, where Hansson met them in 1988. Hansson received a doctorate in economics from Harvard in 1987 under his doctoral adviser

Jeffrey Sachs Jeffrey David Sachs ( ; born November 5, 1954) is an American economist and public policy analyst who is a professor at Columbia University, where he was formerly director of The Earth Institute. He worked on the topics of sustainable develop ...

. He then became an assistant professor of economics at the University of British Columbia from 1987 to 1990. Sachs arranged for Hansson to work at the

World Institute for Development Economics Research The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) is part of the United Nations University (UNU). UNU-WIDER, the first research and training centre to be established by the UNU, is an international academ ...

(WIDER) in Europe.

Career

Hansson left Canada in 1990 to work at WIDER during a period of

decommunization Decommunization in former communist states is the process of purging former communist high officials and eliminating communist symbols. It is sometimes referred to as political cleansing. Although the term has been occasionally used during t ...

post-Soviet states The post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union or the former Soviet republics, are the independent sovereign states that emerged/re-emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to their independence, they ...

. He went to Estonia as its independence movement reestablished it as a sovereign nation in 1991.

Lennart Meri Lennart Georg Meri (; 29 March 1929 – 14 March 2006) was an Estonian writer, film director, and statesman. He was the country's foreign minister from 1990 to 1992 and President of Estonia from 1992 to 2001. Early life Meri was born in Tallin ...

, the

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

, took Hansson on as an informal adviser in 1991. Hansson then became an informal adviser of economic policy for Tiit Vähi, the

Prime Minister of Estonia The prime minister of Estonia () is the head of government of the Estonia, Republic of Estonia. The prime minister is nominated by the President of Estonia, president after appropriate consultations with the parliamentary factions and confirmed ...

, in March 1992. The three-person Monetary Reform Committee was formed that year to transition Estonia from the

to the

, and Hansson was selected in June 1992 to replace one of its members who had fallen ill. The same year, he was made research fellow at the

Stockholm School of Economics The Stockholm School of Economics (SSE; , HHS) is a private business school located in city district Vasastaden in the central part of Stockholm, Sweden. SSE offers BSc, MSc and MBA programs, along with PhD- and Executive education progr ...

. He went on to be an economic advisor for several prime ministers over the following years. He stayed with the Stockholm School of Economics until 1996. He also worked for the

Council of the Baltic Sea States The Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) is a regional intergovernmental organisation working on three priority areas: regional identity; regional safety and security; regional sustainability and prosperity. These three priority areas aim ...

from 1993 to 1994 as its Head of the Working Group on Economic Cooperation. Hansson was placed on the Supervisory Board of the

in 1993, holding the position until 1998. He briefly served on the Board of Estonian Railways in 1997. He received the 3rd class

Order of the White Star The Order of the White Star (; ) was instituted in 1936. The Order of the White Star is bestowed on Estonian citizens and foreigners to give recognition for services rendered to the Estonian state. Design Classes The Order of the White Star ...

in 1998. Hansson worried that his career would be hampered if it was restricted to Estonia, so he moved to Poland to work for the

in 1997. He became the World Bank's economist for the

Baltic states The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

and Poland in 1998 before becoming its senior economist for Lithuania (1999–2000), for

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

and its successor state

Serbia and Montenegro The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...

(2000–2003), and for the western

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

(2003–2008). He was made a full staff member in 2000 an began working at the World Bank headquarters in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

He became chief of the World Bank's Economic Policy Unit in China in 2008, and he moved to

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

in 2009. Hansson was selected to be governor of the

by its board of directors in October 2011. His term began in June 2012 and ended in June 2019. As governor, he was also a member of the Governing Council of the

European Central Bank The European Central Bank (ECB) is the central component of the Eurosystem and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) as well as one of seven institutions of the European Union. It is one of the world's Big Four (banking)#International ...

and attended biweekly meetings in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

. Hansson again became economic advisor to the prime minister in April 2021, working for

Kaja Kallas Kaja Kallas (; born 18 June 1977) is an Estonian politician and diplomat. She was the first female prime minister of Estonia, a role she held from 2021 until 2024, when she resigned in advance of her appointment as High Representative of the ...

Personal life

Hansson is married to Triinu Tombak, with whom he has two sons.

Other activities

(ECB), Member of the Audit Committee (since 2022) *

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

(IMF), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of GovernorsBoard of Governors

(IMF). Retrieved 5 April 2025.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hansson, Ardo 1958 births Chairmen of the Bank of Estonia 20th-century Estonian economists Harvard University alumni Living people Social scientists from Chicago Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 3rd Class University of British Columbia alumni American people of Estonian descent 21st-century Estonian economists