The Portuguese nominee João Leão was supported with 328 votes in favour, 67 against and 198 abstentions.

The Swedish nominee Hans Lindblad was supported with 498 votes in favour, 15 against and 74 abstentions.

The candidates

Mr Leão has been Professor of Economics and Public Finance and Vice-Rector at the University Institute of Lisbon. From 2020 to 2022, he was Minister of State for Finance and between 2015 and 2020, Secretary of State for Budget. He holds a PhD in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Mr Lindblad is currently Chair of the Swedish Government’s Productivity Commission. He was Director General of the Swedish National Debt Office from 2013 to 2022 and Chair of the Expert Group for Public Economics from 2013 to 2020. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Stockholm.

Both candidates were subject to vetting and received a positive endorsement from the Budgetary Control Committee, which held hearings with the candidates on 29…