In this interview excerpt, Étienne Davignon, Member (1977–1981) then Vice-President (1981–1985) of the Commission of the European Communities with particular responsibility for the Internal Market, Industrial Affairs and the Customs Union, describes the personality of Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, Director in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs from 1979 to 1983, a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank from 1998 to 2005, Chairman of the ‘Notre Europe’ think tank from 2005 to 2010 and Italian Minister for the Economy and Finance from 2006 to 2008.

In this interview excerpt, Romano Prodi, President of the Italian Council from 1996 to 1998 and 2006 to 2008 and President of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004, outlines the circumstances in which he got to know Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, particularly when Padoa-Schioppa was Deputy Director General of the Bank of Italy from 1984 to 1997. Prodi particularly emphasises how Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa embodied the virtues of a great public servant, not merely one who executes orders.

In this interview excerpt, Jean-Claude Trichet, Director of the French Treasury from 1987 to 1993, Governor of the Banque de France from 1993 to 2003 and President of the European Central Bank (ECB) from 2003 to 2011, describes the personality of Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, who was a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank from 1998 to 2005 and Italian Minister for the Economy and Finance from 2006 to 2008, and emphasises Padoa-Schioppa’s strong commitment to Europe.

In this interview excerpt, Jacques de Larosière, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 1978 to 1987, Governor of the Banque de France from 1987 to 1993 and President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) from 1993 to 1998, describes the opportunities he had to work with Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, who was a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank from 1998 to 2005 and Italian Minister for the Economy and Finance from 2006 to 2008, and particularly refers to their exchanges during the preparations for the Report on financial supervision in the European Union (the ‘De Larosière Report’), published in March 2009.

In this interview excerpt, Jacques de Larosière, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 1978 to 1987, Governor of the Banque de France from 1987 to 1993 and President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) from 1993 to 1998, discusses the personality of Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, who was a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank from 1998 to 2005 and Italian Minister for the Economy and Finance from 2006 to 2008.

In this interview excerpt, Christian Noyer, Vice-President of the European Central Bank from 1998 to 2002 and Governor of the Banque de France since 2003, describes the personality and motivating forces of Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, who was a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank from 1998 to 2005 and Italian Minister for the Economy and Finance from 2006 to 2008.

In this interview excerpt, Ignazio Visco, economist, senior official at the Bank of Italy since 1971 and Governor of the Bank of Italy since 2011, describes his memories of the personality of Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, who was Deputy Director General of the Bank of Italy from 1984 to 1997, a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank from 1998 to 2005 and Italian Minister for the Economy and Finance from 2006 to 2008.

In this interview excerpt, Giuliano Amato, President of the Italian Council from 1992 to 1993 and 2000 to 2001 and Interior Minister from 2006 to 2008, describes how, in his view, one of the defining characteristics of Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa was that he developed networks in all the posts that he held, whether as Deputy Director General of the Bank of Italy from 1984 to 1997, a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank from 1998 to 2005 or Italian Minister for the Economy and Finance from 2006 to 2008.

In this interview excerpt, Giuliano Amato, President of the Italian Council from 1992 to 1993 and 2000 to 2001 and Interior Minister from 2006 to 2008, outlines the circumstances in which he met Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa. Amato also discusses the role that Padoa-Schioppa, Deputy Director General of the Bank of Italy from 1984 to 1997, played alongside him during the Italian financial crisis in 1992. Finally, he sets out the reasons why Padoa-Schioppa did not become Governor of the Bank of Italy after Carlo Azeglio Ciampi in 1993.

In this interview excerpt, Gaëtane Ricard-Nihoul, General Secretary of the ‘Notre Europe’ think tank from 2004 to 2011 and political analyst at the European Commission Representation in France since 2011, describes the personality of Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, who was a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank from 1998 to 2005, Italian Minister for the Economy and Finance from 2006 to 2008 and Chairman of Notre Europe from 2005 to 2010, and speaks about the origins of his commitment to Europe.