Duisenberg's tenure as the first ECB president has been rocky

(CNN) -- Will the introduction of euro notes and coins signal the impending departure of the first "Mr. Euro" -- otherwise known as European Central Bank President Wim Duisenberg?

Many European finance ministers are hoping so.

Since its initial introduction in 1999, the euro has had a troubled political and economic history under Duisenberg’s leadership. Some would call it a disaster story.

In the first 2 1/2 years of its existence, the euro lost nearly a quarter of its value against the dollar. Partly for that reason, voters in Denmark -- the only EU nation to be given a specific vote on the question -- opted not to join.

There has been endless argument about who really should be in charge of the euro. Duisenberg insists he must be Mr. Euro as leader of the politically independent European Central Bank, or ECB.

European Commission President Romano Prodi has called for a more political Mr. Euro under the EC's wing -- just as Javier Solana serves as "High Representative" or "Mr. Europe" on foreign policy.

The leadership controversy has dogged the performance of the ECB, which was set up to run the euro and is in charge of the switch to the new currency.

European Union leaders were supposed to launch the euro with a fanfare at a special summit in Brussels in 1998. But the meeting degenerated into a 12-hour argument over who should be the first ECB president.

The French wanted Bank of France Governor Jean-Claude Trichet. Germany and others wanted Duisenberg, his Dutch equivalent. Eventually it was agreed that Duisenberg would be the ECB’s first president.

But most of those present believed that an informal deal had been reached: Halfway through his eight-year term, Duisenberg would step down and let Trichet take over.

The messy launch weakened the euro and the ECB from the start, with the appearance of heavy political interference in what was supposed to be an independent economic institution.

Since then, Duisenberg has refused to say whether or when he will quit. And doubts have been raised whether Trichet could take over, if a French judicial investigation into his role in the collapse of Credit Lyonnais continues.

Bankers, officials and finance ministers including Belgium’s Didier Reynders have demanded an end to the uncertainty before the introduction of notes and coins in January 2002.

Duisenberg's ECB has been widely criticised, especially over the last six months, for failing to lower interest rates quickly enough to help counter sluggish European growth and the global economic slowdown.

Duisenberg himself has been criticised on a number of fronts: for a poor public performance; for being bullied by officials for failing to send clear signals to the markets about the ECB’s intentions; and for gaffes such as an October 2000 interview with The Times of London in which he spoke openly of foreign exchange intervention, helping drive the euro to a new low.

He has been defended, though, by Otmar Issing, the ECB’s chief economist and a power behind the throne. Issing says the ECB has been under unfair pressure to disregard its inflation targets and act to increase growth.

What is needed, says Issing, is structural reform in the EU.

"The monetary policy objectives that the ECB is aiming for," he says, "cannot substitute for such reforms."