I feel very honored indeed to receive this year’s Lámfalussy Award, first and foremost because of the outstanding personality to whom this recognition is inextricably linked: Baron Alexandre – or Sándor, as he is known here in Hungary – Lámfalussy. His extraordinary accomplishments are so numerous that it would be futile to try and list them all.
He belongs to an illustrious group of polymaths in public policymaking. Baron Lámfalussy shaped both European economic and monetary integration, and he left a lasting imprint on our current regulatory architecture for banking and financial markets. In a Central Banking Hall of Fame, Alexandre Lámfalussy would – no doubt – hold a place of honor.