Reports indicate that Ivorian economist Jean-Claude Brou, president of West Africa’s main political bloc, has been nominated by Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara to be governor of the regional central bank.
Since 2018, Brou has presided over the commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Other bank members are expected to formally confirm his nomination to succeed Tiemoko Kone as governor of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), which represents eight regional countries that use the CFA franc currency.
Kone was appointed vice president of Ivory Coast in April, giving Ouattara the authority to name his successor.
He has been President of the Economic Community of West African States Commission since March 2018. He previously served as Minister of Industry and Mines of Ivory Coast between November 2012 and March 2018.
Brou then returned to Ivory Coast, where he served as Economic and Financial Advisor to the Prime Minister from 1991 to 1995. He was subsequently appointed as Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan, in which capacity he served until 1999.
In this period he was also head of the privatisation committee, during which 70 state-owned companies were privatized Brou worked for the Central Bank of West African States between 2000 and 2008. From 2010 until 2012 he was the World Bank representative for Chad.
On December 16, 2017, during the 52nd Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) the Presidency of the ECOWAS Commission was assigned to Ivory Coast, with Brou to be appointed the next year for a four-year term.
Brou officially took over from Marcel Alain de Souza on 1 March 2018. Brou had remained Minister of Industry and Mines until his appointment.[3]