Europe, Resignation | featured news

Michalis Sarris resigned after announcing the final terms of a bailout for the nation’s banking system that imposed heavy losses on bank depositors in return for aid.

Antreas Artemis, the chairman of Bank of Cyprus, contended that he and the bank's board were not consulted in bailout negotiations that would impose large losses on depositors.

Yannis Stournaras, a well-respected liberal economist, was appointed Greece's new finance minister on Tuesday after the sudden resignation of the first choice for the job at a crucial moment for the debt-laden country.

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi resigned today after parliament's lower chamber passed European-demanded reforms, ending a 17-year political era and setting in motion a transition aimed at bringing the country back from the brink of economic crisis.

The head of Swiss banking giant UBS Oswald J. Gruebel has resigned in the wake of a $2.3 billion loss in unauthorized trading, the bank announced Saturday.

A top board member of the European Central Bank unexpectedly resigned on Friday in what analysts saw as further evidence of the deep divisions over how to resolve Europe’s growing debt crisis. The move immediately rattled European markets and the euro, which slipped to a six-month low against the dollar. The European Stoxx and German DAX indexes tumbled 3.5 percent.

As markets continued to hammer Italy, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi rebutted calls for his resignation, saying Italy’s economic fundamentals were strong.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou offered on Wednesday to step down and make way for a national unity government provided it supported EU/IMF bailout plans, government sources said.

A junior minister in French President Nicolas Sarkozy's center-right government resigned on Sunday after he was accused of sexual harassment by two women, the government said.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who is facing sexual assault charges in New York, says he is stepping down with 'infinite sadness' and that he wants to devote 'all my energy to proving my innocence.'