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Dr Vlieghe will be appointed for an initial three year term which will take effect from 1st September 2015.

The Chancellor yesterday (Tuesday 28 July) announced that Dr Gertjan Vlieghe has been appointed as external member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).

Dr Vlieghe will be appointed for an initial three year term which will take effect from 1st September 2015.

As an external member of the MPC, Dr Vlieghe will hold one of nine votes to decide the future path of UK monetary policy.

The MPC meets monthly to set monetary policy it judges will enable the inflation target to be met.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, said:

Monetary policy plays a critical role in our long term economic plan, delivering economic security to working people.

Dr Vlieghe is an economist of outstanding ability who brings experience from his time at both the Bank of England and the financial services industry to the role and will be a strong addition to the MPC.

Dr Vlieghe replaces Professor David Miles who comes to the end of his extended second term at the end of August.

Professor Miles was first appointed to the MPC on 1 June 2009 and has made a significant contribution to monetary policy making and analysis during his six years on the committee.

In announcing the recruitment process for Professor Miles’ successor in May, the Chancellor said:

I also want to put on record my thanks to David Miles for his service to the MPC, which has benefited enormously from both his expertise and insightful contributions during his time in office.

About Dr Gertjan Vlieghe

Dr Gertjan Vlieghe is Partner and Senior Economist at Brevan Howard Asset Management having previously been a Director at Deutsche Bank.

Prior to his move to the financial services industry, he worked at the Bank of England for seven years where he became economic assistant to the Governor, Lord Mervyn King.

Dr Vlieghe received his PhD from the London School of Economics where his dissertation focused on monetary policy, asset prices and credit market imperfections.

About the Monetary Policy Committee

The Monetary Policy Committee makes decisions about monetary policy.

The committee is made up of nine members – the Governor, the Deputy Governors for Monetary Policy and Financial Stability, two members appointed by the Governor (currently the Deputy Governor for Markets & Banking and the Bank’s Chief Economist) and four external members appointed by the Chancellor.

The appointment of external members is designed to ensure that the MPC benefits from thinking and expertise in addition to that gained inside the Bank of England.

With this appointment, the full list MPC members from 1 September will be: Mark Carney (Governor); Ben Broadbent (Deputy Governor, Monetary Policy); Minouche Shafik (Deputy Governor, Markets and Banking); Sir Jon Cunliffe (Deputy Governor, Financial Stability); Andy Haldane (Executive Director, Monetary Analysis and Chief Economist); Kristin Forbes (external member); Martin Weale (external member); Ian McCafferty (external member); and Gertjan Vlieghe (external member).

About the role

The vacancy for this position on the MPC was advertised on 29 May and ran for one month. Twenty six applications for the position were received, of which six were from women.

A panel comprising Dave Ramsden and Charles Roxburgh from the Treasury and Kate Barker, external member to the MPC 2001-10, interviewed a number of candidates and made recommendations to the Chancellor, which informed his decision.

Future vacancies on the Monetary Policy Committee will continue to be advertised as part of an open recruitment process.