Spain finance chief Calvino to head EU's lending arm

Spain finance chief Calvino to head EU's lending arm

Spain's Economy Minister Nadia Calvino is fluent in English, French and German
Spain's Economy Minister Nadia Calvino is fluent in English, French and German. Photo: JAVIER SORIANO / AFP/File
Source: AFP

Spain's Economy Minister Nadia Calvino, the newly-named European Investment Bank (EIB) chief, is a politician who is well-versed in EU lore and a pragmatist with experience of navigating power struggles.

Since its creation in 1958, the EIB has had seven presidents, "all of them men, and never a Spaniard," the 55-year-old economist said while putting her name forward to become the first woman to run what is effectively the EU's financial arm.

And she's done it: Calvino was appointed to the EIB's top job at a meeting of European finance ministers, beating out Denmark's Margrethe Vestager.

She will replace Germany's Werner Hoyer whose second six-year term as EIB president finishes at the year's end.

The decision consolidates the international stature of a woman who, since entering politics five years ago, has established herself as a political heavyweight in Spain's left-wing government, with her liberal outlook ensuring budgetary orthodoxy among radical left-wing peers.

Read also

Stretched to breaking, Germany's debt rule faces reform

Polyglot

Calvino was born in 1968 in A Coruna, a port city in Spain's northwestern Galicia region, to a father who was a lawyer and headed Spain's public television in the early 1980s.

She grew up in Madrid where she studied economics then law. Fluent in English, French and German as well as her native Spanish, Calvino worked as an interpreter to finance her studies.

Spain's Economy Minister Nadia Calvino, the newly-named European Investment Bank (EIB) chief, was the director general of the European Commission's budget department between 2014 and 2018
Spain's Economy Minister Nadia Calvino, the newly-named European Investment Bank (EIB) chief, was the director general of the European Commission's budget department between 2014 and 2018. Photo: JAVIER SORIANO / AFP/File
Source: AFP

After completing her degrees, she held senior positions in the economy ministry under both conservative prime minister Jose Maria Aznar and his Socialist successor Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.

In 2006 she moved to Brussels where from 2014 to 2018 she was the director general of the European Commission's budget department.

Her political career began in 2018 when Sanchez, who was recently sworn in as premier, named her his economy minister as well as one of his deputy prime ministers.

Read also

Italy's ruling parties kill minimum wage bill

Calvino's appointment was seen as an attempt to send a message of stability to the markets which were concerned about the new minority Socialist government's reliance on the far-left and on Basque and Catalan separatist parties to pass legislation.

The bet paid off, despite occasional tensions between Calvino and hard-left members of Sanchez's cabinet.

Animal brooches

A fan of 1950s films who is said to be polite-but-tough during negotiations, Calvino had to steer Spain's economy through the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic and the upheaval caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

On her watch, Spain's economy expanded by 5.5 percent last year -- one of the fastest rates in Europe -- while inflation fell to 1.9 percent in June and stood at 3.2 percent in November, one of the lowest levels in the eurozone.

A mother of four, Calvino was in 2020 a candidate to lead the Eurogroup panel of eurozone finance ministers, a post she didn't win despite Madrid's campaign to support her.

Read also

Southeast Asia banks on aviation boom

Nadia Calvino likes 1950s films and often wears brooches in the shape of animals and insects
Nadia Calvino likes 1950s films and often wears brooches in the shape of animals and insects. Photo: PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU / AFP/File
Source: AFP

But in December 2021 she was selected to chair the IMF's monetary and financial committee.

With a penchant for animal-shaped brooches that carefully match her outfits, Calvino made headlines last year after refusing to take part in a photo at an event organised by the Madrid employers' federation when she realised she was the only woman in the group.

The lack of parity in circles of power is "an issue that we must take seriously" which is "key for the proper functioning of our societies," she said at the time, adding she would not take part in any more debates in which she is the only woman.

New feature: Сheck out news that is picked for YOU ➡️ click on “Recommended for you” and enjoy!

Source: AFP

Authors:
AFP avatar

AFP AFP text, photo, graphic, audio or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer or otherwise except for personal and non-commercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP news material or in transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever. As a newswire service, AFP does not obtain releases from subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, videos, graphics or quoted in its texts. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP material. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP material.