“"ans Tietmeyer was an outstanding president, whose actions always followed clear and consistent lines aimed at maintaining monetary stability," said Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann.

Hans Tietmeyer was dubbed the "Icon of monetary policy" for his time at the helm of the Bundesbank, which was initially characterised by recurring tensions in the European Monetary System.

As president, Hans Tietmeyer had the difficult task of leading the Bundesbank into a monetary union that it did not actually want and whose risks it had persistently warned against.

Hans Tietmeyer is the most political president to have headed the Bundesbank since it was established precisely 60 years ago, on 1 January 1957.

It was with dogged determination that he – first as a Bundesbank negotiator and, from October 1993 onwards, as president – successfully brought the German model of central bank independence to the European monetary union.

Hans Tietmeyer was the last Bundesbank President of the D-Mark era and one of the founding fathers of Europe’s single currency. 

Tietmeyer succeeded Helmut Schlesinger as Bundesbank President and headed the central bank, based in Frankfurt, from 1993 to 1999. Insiders dubbed him the "Icon of monetary policy" or, in reference to legendary Chairman of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan, the "Greenspan of Europe".

As the last Bundesbank President [of the D-Mark era], Tietmeyer was one of the architects of the single currency. While he was convinced by the basic concept, Tietmeyer never left us in any doubt that it was nevertheless a source of some unease for him as the guardian of the D-Mark.

He headed the central bank, based in Frankfurt, from 1993 to 1999. Insiders dubbed him the "Icon of monetary policy". Former ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet attested that he personally had learned a great deal from Tietmeyer. Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann paid tribute to him as an outstanding president "whose actions always followed clear and consistent lines aimed at maintaining monetary stability".

Tietmeyer was the face of the hard Mark and of the concept of a central bank that safeguards monetary stability while remaining entirely free from political influence.

Tietmeyer always considered it his duty to tell the truth to those in power.. His bluntness in international negotiations was legendary. At the Bundesbank, he rapidly established his credentials as a fighter against inflation.

Tietmeyer, a passionate advocate of price stability, was the most influential of all of the European central bankers who are regarded as the euro’s founding fathers and were involved in its conception in the 1990s. It is mainly thanks to him that the ECB – established on 1 July 1998, six months prior to the euro’s launch – is often referred to as a Bundesbank clone.

A stickler for rules and resistant to change, Tietmeyer headed the German central bank with Prussian discipline from October 1993 to August 1999. The first phase of the euro was ushered in during his time in office, and he was involved in its launch as a member of the ECB Governing Council chaired by the then President Wim Duisenberg. An ardent supporter of the ordoliberal school of thought, Tietmeyer showed the same discipline in this role, too.

A steadfast defender of monetary stability, he was regarded in the international arena as one of the most influential bankers in the world, with the ECB initially even being deemed a Bundesbank clone – such was the widespread recognition of his impact as a role model.