mario draghi : laudatio for theo waigel speech by mr mario draghi, president of the european central bank, in honour of dr theodor waigel, at signsawards, munich, 17 june 2016. * * * james freeman clarke, a 19th century theologian, once observed that “ a politician is a man who thinks of the next election, while a statesman thinks of the next generation ”. this captures well why we are here to honour theo waigel today. theo waigel ’ s political career cannot just be defined by the elections he won, however many there were during his 30 years in the bundestag. nor can it be defined by his time as head of the csu and as finance minister of germany. it is defined by his legacy : a legacy that is still shaping europe today. he became finance minister in 1989 at a turning - point in post - war european history – when the iron curtain that divided europe was being lifted ; when the walls and barbed wire that divided germany were being removed. it was a time of great hopes and expectations. but it was also a time of some anxiety. it was clear that the successful reunification of germany would be a tremendous undertaking. and many wondered what those changes would mean for the european community – whether it would upset the balance of power that had prevailed between nations since the war. in that uncertain setting, theo waigel ’ s leadership was pivotal – both as a german and as a european. he was one of the strongest advocates of german reunification, and was instrumental in getting germany ’ s federal and state governments to finance the reconstruction and modernisation of east germany. and under his influence, the german government took a fundamental decision for europe : that the reunification which made germany stronger should not make europe weaker. free of the threat of the soviet union, germany chose not to go down a path of its own making. instead, it renewed its commitment to europe. and it demonstrated the strength of that commitment by sharing its currency with its neighbours. as theo waigel said, germany brought the deutsche mark to europe, and in doing so brought the euro into being. this historic sequence of events spoke to three character traits which define theo waigel : his vision, his resolve and his statesmanship. he was a person who took the long view and followed his convictions rather than the zeitgeist. he was not discouraged by the obstacles that stood in his way, however high they were. and he had that crucial quality of

, liquidity, and risk - management requirements. in addition, the rule requires large foreign banking organizations to form a u. s. intermediate holding company, and it imposes enhanced prudential requirements for these intermediate holding companies. looking forward, the federal reserve is considering whether additional measures are needed to further reduce the risks associated with large, interconnected financial institutions. while we have seen substantial improvements in labor market conditions and the overall economy since the financial crisis and severe recession, we recognize that more must be accomplished. many americans who want a job are still unemployed, inflation continues to run below the fomc ’ s longer - run objective, and work remains to further strengthen our financial system. i will continue to work closely with my colleagues and others to carry out the important mission that the congress has given the federal reserve. thank you. i will be pleased to take your questions. bis central bankers ’ speeches