Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney was unexpectedly appointed as the next head of the Bank of England, succeeding Mervyn King.

Carney, 47, takes the helm of a 318-year-old institution that’s preparing to become the most powerful central bank in the world as it absorbs broad new powers to oversee the financial system and prevent another crisis. He’ll also have to guide the Monetary Policy Committee as it implements unconventional tools to stoke a recovery and battles to protect the inflation- fighting credibility earned since it won independence in 1997.