Lorenzo Bini Smaghi
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Lorenzo Bini Smaghi (born 29 November 1956) is an Italian economist and banker who was a member of the
Executive Board of the European Central Bank The Executive Board of the European Central Bank is the organ responsible for implementing monetary policy for the Eurozone in line with the guidelines and decisions taken by the Governing Council of the European Central Bank. The executive boar ...
from 2005 to 2011. He has been chairman of
Société Générale Société Générale S.A. (), colloquially known in English-speaking countries as SocGen (), is a French multinational universal bank and financial services company founded in 1864. It is registered in downtown Paris and headquartered nearby i ...
since 2015.


Early life and education

Bini Smaghi grew up in Brussels, acquiring a knowledge of foreign languages at an early age. In 1974 he graduated from the
Lycée Français The Agency for French Education Abroad, or Agency for French Teaching Abroad, (; AEFE), is a national public agency under the administration of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France that assures the quality of schools teaching the French nati ...
de Bruxelles. In 1978 he graduated in Economics from the
Université catholique de Louvain UCLouvain (or Université catholique de Louvain , French for Catholic University of Louvain, officially in English the University of Louvain) is Belgium's largest French-speaking university and one of the oldest in Europe (originally establishe ...
(Belgium). With a scholarship from the U.S.-Italy Fulbright Commission, in 1980 he received a master's degree in Economics from the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
; and a PhD from the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
in 1988.


Career


Career in the public sector

Before joining the ECB, Bini Smaghi was Director General for International Financial Relations of the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance. In this capacity, he also was vice-president of the Economic and Financial Committee (EFC) of the European Union from 2003 until 2005. His earlier appointments include: Deputy Director-General Research of the ECB, Head of the Policy Division of the
European Monetary Institute The European Monetary Institute (EMI) was the forerunner of the European Central Bank (ECB), operating between 1994 and 1998. History The EMI was created 1st January 1994 to oversee the second stage in the creation of monetary union. The EMI its ...
in Frankfurt and Head of the Exchange Rate and International Trade Division of the Research Department of the
Bank of Italy The Bank of Italy (Italian language, Italian: ''Banca d'Italia'', , informally referred to as ''Bankitalia'') is the National central bank (Eurosystem), national central bank for Italy within the Eurosystem. It was the Italian central bank from ...
in Rome. He has published extensively in monetary and
international economics International economics is concerned with the effects upon economic activity from international differences in productive resources and consumer preferences and the international institutions that affect them. It seeks to explain the patterns an ...
. Bini Smaghi was a member of the
Executive Board of the European Central Bank The Executive Board of the European Central Bank is the organ responsible for implementing monetary policy for the Eurozone in line with the guidelines and decisions taken by the Governing Council of the European Central Bank. The executive boar ...
under the leadership of
Jean-Claude Trichet Jean-Claude Trichet (; born 20 December 1942) is an economist and high-ranking French official who was President of the European Central Bank from 2004 to 2011. Previous to his assumption of the presidency he was Governor of the Bank of France ...
from June 2005 to November 2011; he was appointed for an eight-year, non-renewable mandate.Ralph Atkins (November 10, 2011)
Bini Smaghi quits ECB after French pressure
''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
''.
He took over from
Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, OMRI (; 23 July 1940 – 18 December 2010) was an Italian banker and economist who served as Italy's Minister of Economy and Finance from 2006 to 2008. He previously served as a member of the Executive Board of the Euro ...
. On the ECB Executive Board, Bini Smaghi was responsible for international and European relations and for the legal department of the Bank and for its administration, including the building of a new seat for the ECB in the Frankfurt Grossmarkthalle. During his time in office, he also gained a reputation for occasionally openly criticised the German government over the handling of the
European debt crisis The euro area crisis, often also referred to as the eurozone crisis, European debt crisis, or European sovereign debt crisis, was a multi-year debt crisis and financial crisis in the European Union (EU) from 2009 until, in Greece, 2018. The e ...
. Bini Smaghi resigned from the ECB in November 2011. At the time, he had been under pressure from the French and Italian governments to step down for several months, after
Mario Draghi Mario Draghi (; born 3 September 1947) is an Italian politician, economist, academic, banker, statesman, and civil servant, who served as the prime minister of Italy from 13 February 2021 to 22 October 2022. Prior to his appointment as prime mi ...
, another Italian, become president of the ECB. At the same time, he was lobbied by his colleagues on the executive board not to be seen as being under the control of politicians.


Career in the private sector

In 2012, Bini Smaghi became a visiting scholar at Harvard's
Weatherhead Center for International Affairs The Weatherhead Center for International Affairs (WCFIA), formerly Center for International Affairs (CFIA) is a research center for international affairs and the largest international research center within Harvard University's Faculty of Arts a ...
and Senior Research Fellow at
Istituto Affari Internazionali The Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) is an Italian international relations think tank, and non-profit organisation founded in 1965 by Altiero Spinelli. It is ranked among the global top-20 think tanks in the "Foreign Policy and International ...
in Rome. Bini Smaghi joined French bank
Société Générale Société Générale S.A. (), colloquially known in English-speaking countries as SocGen (), is a French multinational universal bank and financial services company founded in 1864. It is registered in downtown Paris and headquartered nearby i ...
as a second vice-chairman and independent director in 2014. Since January 2015, he has been chairman. Société Générale had previously split the roles of chairman and chief executive as required by European law, appointing Bini Smaghi to chair the board of directors while Frédéric Oudéa continued as chief executive.Martin Arnold and Michael Stothard (January 19, 2015)
Société Générale splits chairman and chief’s roles
''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
''.


Other activities


Corporate boards

* Tages Holding, Member of the Board of Directors (since 2014) *
Italgas Italgas S.p.A. is an Italian company specialised in the distribution of natural gas. It is listed on the Borsa Italiana and included in the FTSE MIB index. History The company was founded in Turin in 1837 under the name ''Compagnia di Illumi ...
, Non-Executive Member and Chair of the Board of Directors (2016-2019) *
ChiantiBanca ChiantiBanca (full name Credito Cooperativo, Società Cooperativa) is an Italian bank based in Monteriggioni, Tuscany. The bank was a cooperative bank. However, in 2016 the bank demutualized. In the same year the bank also absorbed ''Banca di Pi ...
, Chairman of the Board (2016-2017) * Morgan Stanley International, Independent Member of the Board of Directors (2013-2014) *
Snam Snam S.p.A. is an Italian energy infrastructure company. As of 31 December 2023, it had a market capitalization of €15,611 million. Snam was originally a subsidiary of Italian energy company Eni. It has since become an independent company, wh ...
, Chair of the Board of Directors (2012-2016)


Non-profit organizations

*
Bretton Woods Committee The Bretton Woods Committee is an American organization created in 1983 as a result of the agreement between U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Fowler, and U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, Charls Walker – at the time a Democrat and a ...
, Member of the Board of Directors (since 2020) * Scope Foundation, Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2020) * European Financial Services Roundtable (EFR), Member * Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, President * Leibniz Institute for Financial Research (SAFE), Member of the Policy Advisory Council * Italy-USA Foundation, Member


Personal life

Bini Smaghi is married and has two children.


Publications

Author of several articles and books on international and European monetary and financial issues. * ''La tentazione di andarsene. Fuori dall’Europa c’è un futuro per l’Italia?'', Il Mulino Ed., Bologna, 2017. * ''33 false verità sull’Europa'', Il Mulino Ed., Bologna, 2014. * ''Austerity, European Democracies against the wall'', CEPS, Brussels, 2013. * ''Morire di Austerità, Democrazie europee con le spalle al muro'', Il Mulino Bologna, 2013. * ''Il paradosso dell'euro. Luci e ombre dieci anni dopo'', Rizzoli, Milano 2008. * ''L’Euro'', Il Mulino, Bologna, 1998 (Third Edition: 2001). * ''Open Issues in European Central Banking'', Macmillan, London, 2000 (with Daniel Gros) * ''Chi ci salva dalla prossima crisi finanziaria?'', Il Mulino, Bologna, 2000.


Notes


References


Vorstellung auf der Website der Europäischen Zentralbank


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smaghi, Lorenzo Bini 1956 births Living people Executive Board of the European Central Bank members Italian economists