Lorenzo Bini Smaghi (born 29 November 1956) is an Italian economist and banker who was a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank from 2005 to 2011.

Before joining the ECB, Bini Smaghi was Director General for International Financial Relations of the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance.

Bini Smaghi was a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank[1] under the leadership of Jean-Claude Trichet from June 2005 to November 2011; he was appointed for an eight-year, non-renewable mandate.

During his time in office, he also gained a reputation for occasionally openly criticised the German government over the handling of the European debt crisis.

[2] In 2012, Bini Smaghi became a visiting scholar at Harvard's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs and Senior Research Fellow at Istituto Affari Internazionali in Rome.