Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, Since 1 November 2019.
Christine Lagarde became President of the European Central Bank on 1 November 2019, the first woman to hold the office. Her signature appears on Europa-series banknotes and will be the last signature of that series if the next generation enters circulation under a different President.
| Born | Paris, France, 1 January 1956 |
|---|---|
| Term as ECB President | Since 1 November 2019 |
| Banknotes signed | Europa series only |
A lawyer among economists
Lagarde trained as a lawyer and led the international firm Baker & McKenzie before entering French government, where she served as Minister of the Economy and Finance from 2007 to 2011. She then spent eight years as Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund.
She arrived at the ECB from outside the central-banking career path, which was widely noted at the time and which she addressed directly in her first public remarks in Frankfurt.
Signing the banknotes
Shortly after taking office she signed the euro banknotes in a small ceremony at the ECB, marking the moment when a new President’s signature enters the production chain. Notes bearing it began to appear in circulation over the following months, as printing works worked through their allocations.
Her presidency has also covered the decision to redesign the euro banknotes: the themes chosen in 2023, the motifs selected in 2025, the design contest and the ten shortlisted proposals published in 2026.
What her signature tells you
A Lagarde signature places a note in the Europa series and after late 2019. It says nothing about where the note was printed — that is the job of the production code — and nothing about the note’s value, because all four presidential signatures are equally valid.
The Europa-series combinations of denomination, printing works and signature are recorded in the Europa-series catalogue.
Where to look on the note
The signature is printed on the front, next to the ECB initials. The four signatures are shown together in signatures on euro banknotes, and the redesign now under way is followed in future euro banknotes.
