Eurogroup Gets First Greek Chief in Break From Crisis Past

Greek Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis won the race to become president of the Eurogroup, clinching one of the euro area’s top economic jobs in a first for the formerly crisis-ridden nation.

Pierrakakis beat Belgium’s Vincent van Peteghem in a vote held by the region’s finance ministers on Thursday. He will take office on Dec. 12 and serve a 2 1/2 year term, according to a Eurogroup statement. He succeeds Ireland’s Paschal Donohoe, who left abruptly in November for a job at the World Bank.