Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's cabinet yesterday proposed Mr Ernst Welteke as president of Germany's Bundesbank, making him virtually certain to succeed Mr Hans Tietmeyer for an eight-year term.
Government spokeswoman Ms Charima Reinhardt announced Welteke's nomination and said the centre-left coalition cabinet's decision would now be reviewed by the central bank itself at its regular bi-weekly meeting scheduled for Wednesday.
If Welteke (56) gets the nod as expected from his fellow Bundesbank council members, he will begin work in September and occupy one voting seat on the European Central Bank's Frankfurt-based policy-making council, which sets monetary policy in the 11 nation euro zone.
Welteke, with a reputation as a heavyweight in Germany's financial capital, is known as a moderate in terms of monetary policy, but has hardened his stance in recent months, saying the ECB'S April 8 interest rate cut was not urgently required.
A Bundesbank spokeswoman said Welteke's nomination would now be reviewed by the central bank and any decision they made would be immediately discussed with the government, almost certainly on the same day.
No comment was immediately available from Welteke's office.
Welteke, who heads the regional central bank in the state of Hesse, is a member of Schroeder's ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD) and also enjoys close ties with new Finance Minister Hans Eichel. Eichel placed Welteke in his current post when he was prime minister of Hesse.
