The Financial Times' third annual survey of European finance ministers puts Ireland's Brian Lenihan second from the bottom.
The study benchmarks performances by drawing on data and a panel of economists and commentators.
Mr Lenihan was rated for his lucidity in the financial crisis but the paper said the unilateral guarantee of the debts and deposits of Irelands biggest banks annoyed his European colleagues.
Mr Lenihan was 18th in a list of 19 ministers rated by the paper, ahead of only Portugal's Fernando Teixeira dos Santos.
Britain's Alistair Darling was 14th on the list.
The paper says the challenges facing ministers were huge in the past year. It says amid the worst conditions for a generation they had to spot early its scale, avoid misjudgements and remain credible as politicians while keeping a grip on public finances.
Finland's finance minister Jyrki Katainen came out on top for being all round solid. He is upbeat about his country's ability to weather the economic storm. He says his country learnt lessons from the Nordic banking crisis in the early 90s when Finland was close to where Iceland is today.
