The Spanish government on Friday night put forward Finance Minister Nadia Calviño as a candidate to lead the European Investment Bank.
Calviño worked in senior management in the European Commission for 12 years and as Spain’s minister for economy and digitalization for 5 years.
If selected, Calviño would be the first woman to run the European Union’s bank which finances programs inside the bloc and abroad. European Commission competition chief Margrethe Vestager is also in the running for the top job, though her candidacy took a hit via her failed bid to install an American as the EU’s top competition economist.
Candidates from Italy, Poland and Sweden are also in the mix: Daniele Franco, a former finance minister; Teresa Czerwińska, current vice president at the EIB; and Thomas Östros, another EIB vice president.
The EIB role is a post with plenty of opportunity for building an international profile, working on hot topics from climate to conflicts and — since a large part of the job is handing out cheap financing — photo ops.
Werner Hoyer, the bank’s current president, will step down at the end of this year after serving two terms. Finance ministers will likely discuss the candidacy at an informal meeting in September. While governments typically try to agree by consensus, they can also take a vote.