About Klaas Knot
“Stay curious about the world and about yourself. Keep trying new things. And don’t plan too rigidly: if you keep developing and do your work well, new challenges will always come your way.”
Fun fact
He worked a wide range of student jobs, including dishwasher, factory line worker, and postman, and thus graduated without student debt.
Favourite Book / Film / Series
Grand Hotel Europa by Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer
Other authors he mentions reading: Francis Fukuyama (including Origins of Political Order and Trust)
Favourite film: Pulp Fiction (and he’s a big Tarantino fan)
Personal details
Name: Klaas Knot
Year of birth: 1967
Current Position
2005 – present — Professor in Money and Banking, University of Groningen
— Honorary Professor of Monetary Stability, University of Amsterdam
Previous Positions
2011 – 2025 — President / Governor, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB)
2021 – 2025 — Chair, Financial Stability Board (FSB)
2011 – 2025 — Member, ECB Governing Council and General Council
2011 – 2025 — Member, European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB)
2011 – 2025 — Governor, International Monetary Fund (IMF)
2011 – 2025 — Member, Board of Directors, Bank for International Settlements (BIS)
2009 – 2011 — Director and Deputy Treasurer General, Ministry of Finance (Netherlands)
2004 – 2009 — Division Director, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB)
2002 – 2004 — Department Director, Pensions and Insurance Authority
Education
1991 – 1995 — PhD in Economics, University of Groningen (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen)
Last updated 1 February 2026
Short biography
Klaas Knot is a Dutch economist and former central banker. He served as President of De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) from 1 July 2011 to 30 June 2025 and chaired the Financial Stability Board (FSB) from 2 December 2021 to 30 June 2025. In these capacities, he was an ex officio member of the Governing Council and General Council of the European Central Bank, the European Systemic Risk Board, the IMF’s Board of Governors, and the Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlements.
Knot began his career at DNB and also worked at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C. He later held senior roles at the Dutch Ministry of Finance and has also been associated with the Dutch Pensions and Insurance Supervisory Authority. Alongside his policy work, he holds academic affiliations as honorary professor at the University of Groningen and honorary professor of monetary stability at the University of Amsterdam, and has published widely in monetary and financial economics.
Since 1 October 2025, he has served as envoy for the Lelylijn project, advising on the financial and economic pathways to make the project feasible.
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