Euro architect Henning Christophersen dies

Henning Christophersen, one of the architects of the euro, died on Saturday, just a day before the 15th anniversary of the introduction of the single currency.

He was 77.

The Danish politician served as the country’s foreign minister and finance minister before becoming vice president of the European Commission in charge of economic and monetary affairs, playing a leading role in the creation of the single currency.

“Henning Christophersen was a very respected European commissioner who had… a great influence on the work of the commission,” Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said in a statement.

Another architect of the euro, former Bundesbank president Hans Tietmeyer, died on December 27 at the age of 85.

The currency, now used by nearly 340 million people, celebrates its birthday on Sunday, 15 years after euro coins and notes were introduced on January 1, 2002.

It was first launched on January 1, 1999 but initially existed only as a virtual currency used in accounting and financial transactions.

Ironically, Denmark, although a member of what was then the European Economic Community since 1973, has never joined the 19-country eurozone.