EU leaders appoint Mario Draghi as new ECB president

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Italy's Mario Draghi was appointed the new head of the European Central Bank on Friday, to replace current ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet at the end of October, EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy said.

"The European Council has just agreed on the appointment of Mario Draghi as new President of the ECB," Van Rompuy, who chairs EU leaders' talks, said in a message posted on Twitter.

(Reporting by Jan Strupczewski)