Helmut Schieber, Member of the directorate at the Bundesbank

His punishing schedule was that of a corporate financier rather than a central banker. In five years as head of the Bundesbank’s international relations, Helmut Schieber took an average 10 foreign trips a month to attend summits with bankers, finance ministers and regulators. “Yes, it was depressing,” says Schieber of the ceaseless round of aircraft seats, chauffeured cars and windowless conference rooms.

It was all change in the autumn. Helmut Kohl’s G7 sherpa, Jürgen Stark, joined the Bundesbank as vice-president and his experience gave him a natural claim to the international relations portfolio.