Portugal Appoints OECD's Álvaro Santos Pereira to Replace Centeno
24 July 2025
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – The Portuguese government has appointed OECD Chief Economist Álvaro Santos Pereira as the next governor of Banco de Portugal, replacing Mário Centeno.
The announcement came after this week’s cabinet meeting, with Cabinet Minister António Leitão Amaro emphasising Pereira’s independence.
‘He’s the best choice because he’s independent. He doesn’t come from within the Bank of Portugal or from government,’ said Leitão Amaro. ‘He served in government, but that was over a decade ago. He doesn’t belong to any political party […] this way, we guarantee independence.’
Santos Pereira, a former economy minister in a centre-right Portuguese government, began his role as OECD chief economist on June 1, 2024, following a decade as Director of Country Studies at the organisation’s Economics Department. Before joining the OECD, he taught at Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia in Canada.
It remains unclear when he will officially begin his mandate at Banco de Portugal. Portuguese law requires a non-binding parliamentary hearing before a new governor can take office, and with the Assembleia da República now on summer recess, the timing of that hearing is uncertain.
In the meantime, Centeno will continue to participate in European Central Bank Governing Council meetings.
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