Finland’s central bank governor Olli Rehn said on Wednesday that he plans to run in next year’s presidential election, when Finland is due to choose a new head of state, and that he will ask for a leave of absence from his current post, Reuters reported.

Olli Rehn, head of the National Bank of Finland, former European Commissioner for Monetary and Economic Affairs in 2010-2014, known in our country for his mandate as Commissioner for Enlargement (2004-2010), being the one who oversaw the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the EU . In 2009, he said that Romania and Bulgaria were not ready to integrate into the European Union, adding that after this experience, the EU had learned not to set a fixed date for a country’s entry until pre-accession negotiations were completed, but also to set stricter criteria.

Olli Rehn, 61, a member of the board of governors of the European Central Bank, said he will soon go on leave and will not be involved in official duties as he prepares to run for office. He needs to collect 20,000 signatures before he can officially participate in the elections.

“I will take a year off when I hope to be nominated as a presidential candidate,” Ren told a news conference.

Pekka Haavisto, who resigned as Finland’s foreign minister on Wednesday after the government resigned following the general election, also recently announced he would run for president.

Foreign policy and security policy are among the key constitutional duties of Finnish presidents.

In April, Finland joined the NATO military alliance in a historic political shift triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which prompted Moscow to threaten “countermeasures.”