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Paul VolckerAmerican economist.
Date of Birth: 05.09.1927
Country:  USA |
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Biography of Paul Volcker
Paul Volcker was an American economist who served as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve System from August 1979 to August 1987, under the administrations of Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. He is credited with successfully combating high levels of inflation in the United States during the 1970s and early 1980s.
Early Life and Education
Paul Volcker was born on September 5, 1927, in Cape May, New Jersey, to Alma Louise Volcker and Paul Adolf Volcker. He grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey, where his father was the township's first city manager. Volcker attended his mother's Lutheran church as a child, while his father was a congregant of the Episcopal church. After graduating from Teaneck High School, Volcker went on to study at Princeton University, earning a bachelor's degree in 1949. He later obtained a master's degree in political economy from Harvard University in 1951, where he studied at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the Graduate School of Public Administration.
Career
After receiving a scholarship from the Rotary Foundation's "Ambassadorial Scholarships" program, Volcker continued his studies at the London School of Economics in 1951 and 1952. He then began his career as an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in 1952 and later joined Chase Manhattan Bank in 1957. In 1962, Volcker was recruited by economist and banker Robert Roosa, his mentor at the Federal Reserve, to work at the United States Department of the Treasury as the Director of Financial Analysis. He became an assistant to the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury for monetary matters in 1963 and returned to Chase Manhattan Bank in 1965 as a Vice President and Director of Planning. From 1969 to 1974, Volcker served as the Undersecretary of the Treasury for International Monetary Affairs. He played a significant role in the decisions that led to the suspension of the gold convertibility of the U.S. dollar in 1971, which ultimately led to the collapse of the Bretton Woods system. Overall, he advocated for international solutions to currency issues.
In 1975, Volcker also became a senior fellow at The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. After leaving the Treasury Department, he served as the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York from 1975 to 1979, before being appointed as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve System in August 1979. In 1987, after leaving the Federal Reserve, Volcker became the Chairman of J. Rothschild, Wolfensohn & Co., a prominent investment bank in New York.
Honors and Personal Life
Paul Volcker received honorary doctoral degrees from various educational institutions in the United States, including Hamilton College, Princeton University, Dartmouth College, New York University, Northwestern University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Brown University, Georgetown University, Queen's University, and Amherst College.
In September 1954, Volcker married Barbara Bahnson, with whom he had two children. Their daughter Janice graduated from Georgetown University and became a nurse, while their son James pursued a career in scientific research at New York University. Barbara Volcker passed away in 1998, and Volcker remarried in 2010 to Anke Dening, his longtime assistant. Apart from his professional achievements, Volcker was an avid fisherman and even spent his honeymoon fishing. He earned the nickname "Tall Paul" due to his height of 201 cm.
