NATO’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, whose contract as head of the alliance is set to expire next year, said on Tuesday that he has applied to become Norway’s next central bank governor.
Stoltenberg confirmed on Tuesday that he was asked by Norway’s Finance Ministry last month if he would consider applying for the top position.
Although the job is open from early March, the NATO chief would first have to serve out his term at the trans-Atlantic alliance before taking up the new job.
“I have made it clear to the Ministry of Finance that if I get the position, it will not be possible for me to join until my term in NATO expires on Oct. 1, 2022,” he said in the statement.
Stoltenberg, an economist by training, was Norwegian prime minister from 2000—2001 and 2005—2013 before becoming NATO chief the following year.
The 62-year-old is one of a list of 22 candidates for the position. Others on the list include Norges Bank deputy governor Ida Wolden Bache, who had also been encouraged by Norway’s Finance Ministry to apply and is considered by many economists as a leading contender.
“I’ve applied for the position as central bank governor following a dialogue with the finance ministry,” she said in a statement. “As deputy governor, I have a good overview of what the position entails, and I’m motivated for the job.”
The current governor of the Norges Bank, Oystein Olsen, will turn 70 and is retiring next year after holding the position since January 2011.
Also in the running for the central bank position are a number of students and retirees, as well as a bus driver and a baker.
The successful candidate will be in charge of setting interest rates as well as overseeing Norway’s powerful sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest with assets of $1.4 trillion.
