Former ECB chief Duisenberg found dead

THE former head of the European Central Bank Wim Duisenberg, who helped create the euro, was found dead near Orange in the south of France, French police said yesterday.

Dutchman Duisenberg, 70, was the first president of the European Central Bank in 1998 and stepped down early in October 2003 to allow Frenchman Jean-Claude Trichet to succeed him.

He lived in Amsterdam and had a home near Avignon in southern France. No details of the circumstances of his death were immediately available. Police said they would issue a statement later yesterday.