Mr Welteke wants any sales to be invested in a fund to educate future generations.

ECONOMIST: A tussle over the integrity of a once-great central bank

"Austerity alone is not the solution... without more growth the problems cannot be solved, " Mr Welteke said.

BBC: Ernst Welteke

So Mr Welteke and his co-executives can play for time, and perhaps influence the choice of his successor.

ECONOMIST: A tussle over the integrity of a once-great central bank

Mr Welteke has crossed swords with Hans Eichel, the finance minister, on the budget deficit which he wants reduced and on gold.

ECONOMIST: A tussle over the integrity of a once-great central bank

However, while Mr Welteke said the value of the euro remained "unsatisfactory", he nonetheless warned of too much euro enthusiasm.

BBC: Euro waits on summit

Mr Welteke said the current problems facing the eurozone were due to a debt crisis in southern Europe resulting from the financial crisis.

BBC: Ernst Welteke

"The euro is not in as big a danger as is often recorded, " Mr Welteke told Business Daily on the BBC's World Service.

BBC: Ernst Welteke

But Ernst Welteke, who was Bundesbank president from 1999-2004, told the BBC that none of the eurozone's problems would be solved if Greece left.

BBC: Ernst Welteke

But Mr Welteke, who resigned from the Bundesbank in 2004 in a row over a luxury hotel bill, said it was important to remember who caused the crisis in the first place.

BBC: Ernst Welteke

Should Mr Welteke have accepted the hospitality?

ECONOMIST: A tussle over the integrity of a once-great central bank