Isarescu took the helm of the Romanian central bank in September 1990. He was Romania’s prime minister between December 1999 and November 2000 when he returned to the headship of the central bank.
Although he served only one year as prime minister, Isarescu is considered to have started the reform process, continued later by prime ministers Adrian Nastase and Calin Popescu-Tariceanu.
During his mandate as prime minister, the central bank was run by deputy governor Emil Iota Ghizari.
Throughout 15 years of leadership at the National Bank of Romania, Isarescu managed to create and maintain a mysterious aura around the policies of the central bank and many pointed out that the agenda of the Bank remained independent from any ruling power.
His role in the Romanian economy is compared with the one of Laszcek Balcerowicz in the implementation of the Polish reforms.