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, a source familiar with the matter said.
Brou has served as president of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) commission since 2018.
The source said the other members of the bank are expected to formally validate his nomination to succeed another Ivorian, Tiemoko Kone, as governor of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), which represents eight regional countries that use the CFA franc currency.
Brou was appointed new governor of the Central Bank of West African States, known by the French acronym BCEAO, replacing Tiemoko Meyliet Kone, who became Vice President of Ivory Coast in April, leaving the post vacant. Brou will complete Kone’s term, which was meant to end in 2026, the people said.
The BCEAO, based in Dakar, regulates the banking sector of eight countries which share a common currency, the West African CFA Franc. Brou’s appointment was decided Saturday at a meeting of heads of states from the eight nations’ monetary union in Ghana’s capital, Accra, the people said.
A spokeswoman for Brou declined comment and a BCEAO spokeswoman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside working hours.
Brou, a former Ivorian minister of industry and mining, is an economist who worked at the BCEAO in the early 2000s, alongside now-President Alassane Ouattara of Ivory Coast, before joining the World Bank.
The new central banker’s replacement as president of Ecowas hasn’t yet been named, the people said, but the next leader is expected to be from Gambia, according to a rotational arrangement among Ecowas’ 15 member states.
