Klaas Henderikus Willem Knot (born 14 April 1967) is a Dutch economist and central banker who is the current president of the Dutch

central bank A central bank, reserve bank, national bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the monetary policy of a country or monetary union. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central bank possesses a monopoly on increasing the mo ...

De Nederlandsche Bank De Nederlandsche Bank (, , abbr. DNB) is the national central bank for the Netherlands within the Eurosystem. It was the Dutch central bank from 1814 to 1998, issuing the guilder. Since 2014, it has also been the country's national competent au ...

(DNB). In this capacity he serves as a member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB), as well as of the board of governors of the

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). Knot also holds a position as Professor in Monetary Stability at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

and honorary professor at the

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; , abbreviated as RUG) is a Public university#Continental Europe, public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen (city), Groningen, Netherlands. Founded in 1614, th ...

Early life and education

Knot was born in the town of Bedum near

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

. After completing his secondary education ( vwo) at the Andreas College in

Drachten Drachten (, ) is a town in the northern Netherlands. It is located in the municipality of Smallingerland, Friesland. It had a population of around 56.098 in 2023 and is the Friesland#Urban areas, second largest town in the province of Friesland. ...

, he studied

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

at the

. In 1995 he was awarded a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

from the same institution, with his

doctoral thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

concerning the differences in budget deficits and interest rates on government bonds between Members States of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

Career

After obtaining his doctorate Knot began working as a Senior Economist at De Nederlandsche Bank in the Department of Monetary and Economic Policy. In 1998 he left this post to become an economist in the European Department of the

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 ...

A year later, he returned to De Nederlandsche Bank, as the head of Banking and Supervisory Strategies Department. After serving in this capacity for three years, in December 2002 he left De Nederlandsche Bank again to become the director of the Dutch Pensions and Insurance Authority, charged with supervision of all Dutch

pension funds A pension fund, also known as a superannuation fund in some countries, is any program, fund, or scheme which provides retirement income. The U.S. Government's Social Security Trust Fund, which oversees $2.57 trillion in assets, is the world' ...

and

insurance companies Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...

. In 2004 the Pensions and Insurance Authority was merged with De Nederlandsche Bank, and Knot was appointed as director of the Supervisory Policy Division at De Nederlandsche Bank. In 2009 he left De Nederlandsche Bank once more to become Director of Financial Markets, and Deputy Treasurer General of the Dutch

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

. Knot was the vice chairman of the

Financial Stability Board The Financial Stability Board (FSB) is an international body that monitors and makes recommendations about the global financial system. It was established in the 2009 G20 Pittsburgh Summit as a successor to the Financial Stability Forum (FSF) ...

from 2018 to 2021 when he replaced Randal Quarles as chairman.

Other activities

International organizations

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 ...

(ECB), ex-officio member of the governing council * European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB), ex-officio member *

Bank for International Settlements The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is an international financial institution which is owned by member central banks. Its primary goal is to foster international monetary and financial cooperation while serving as a bank for central bank ...

(BIS), ex-officio member of the board of directors *

(IMF), ex-officio member of the board of governors

Non-profit organizations

* Osservatorio Permanente Giovani-Editori, member of the international advisory board *

Trilateral Commission The Trilateral Commission is a nongovernmental international organization aimed at fostering closer cooperation between Japan, Western Europe and North America. It was founded in July 1973, principally by American banker and philanthropist David ...

, member of the European GroupMembership

. *

Teylers Museum Teylers Museum () is an Art museum, art, Natural history museum, natural history, and science museum in Haarlem, Netherlands. Established in 1778, Teylers Museum was founded as a centre for contemporary art and science. The historic centre of the ...

, member of the supervisory board

Personal life

Knot is married and has two children. He currently lives in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, which is where De Nederlandsche Bank is headquartered.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Knot, Klaas 1967 births 21st-century Dutch economists Dutch civil servants Living people People from Bedum Presidents of the Central Bank of the Netherlands