Following the recommendation of the MNB’s professional committee, the award bearing the name of the ‘Father’ of the euro was received by Robert Holzmann, Governor of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank in 2023. Robert Holzmann was appointed Governor of Austria’s central bank in 2019. As Governor his efforts enabled the Austrian banking sector to remain resilient through the global pandemic. In his central bank’s position Governor Holzmann is exploring the need of early and decisive interest rate steps to prevent the displacement of inflation expectation. 

Before his appointment to Governor, he held high-profile positions in international organisations (World Bank, IMF, OECD) and actively pursued academic activities. He is elected member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences since 2014. He has published 41 books and over 200 articles on financial, fiscal and social policy issues. His 50 years of remarkable international career allowed him so far to travel over 90 countries in the world.