He picked a terrible time to leave.
By David Schutt
December 2000
Institutional Investor Magazine
With the euro hovering near record lows against the dollar, Lex Hoogduin, the respected chief adviser to European Central Bank president Wim Duisenberg, handed in his resignation. In April he will return to the central bank of the Netherlands as research chief. One of Europe’s most esteemed economists, Hoogduin helped engineer a series of bold and successful rate cuts in the Netherlands in the mid-,90s. At the ECB, where some of Duisenberg’s recent public comments have sparked euro sell-offs, Hoogduin’s presence has lent credibility.
Hoogduin hadn,t wanted to leave the ECB until at least 2002, but the prestigious, Amsterdam-based research post wouldn,t wait. He had expressed keen interest in the job back in 1997, when he first joined Duisenberg’s staff at the European Monetary Institute, the ECB’s predecessor organization. “I told the Dutch central bank at the time that I wanted the research job, and I still do,” he says. “Unfortunately, the position has become available a bit earlier than expected, because of early retirement.” Knowing that his deputy wanted the job, Duisenberg gave Hoogduin his blessing while acknowledging that it was a “pity” he was leaving. “It would have been easier to make this decision if it had come in a more quiet period,” says Hoogduin. Given the euro’s recent rough ride, others say, his timing may turn out to be impeccable.
