Pierre-Paul Schweitzer
Encyclopedia
Pierre-Paul Schweitzer was the International Monetary Fund
(IMF)'s fourth Managing Director and Chairman of the Executive Board, serving from 1963 to 1973.
, CEO of Renault
. He was the nephew of Albert Schweitzer
.
Schweitzer was educated at the University of Strasbourg
, the University of Paris
, and the Paris School of Political Science and received degrees in Law, Economics and Political Science.
, a Director of Air France
, and as a government commissioner on the boards of the French Petroleum Company and the French Refinery Company.
On June 21, 1963 Schweitzer was appointed Managing Director and Chairman of the Executive Board of the IMF, and he assumed his duties on September 1, 1963. Schweitzer was appointed to a second five-year term as Managing Director and Chairman of the Board of the IMF on May 15, 1968.
Schweitzer's term as the IMF's Managing Director was a critical period, not only due to the collapse of the Par Value System, but also for the creation of the Special Drawing Rights
(SDR), as an international reserve asset (1968); the establishment of the two-tier gold market, and the work of the Committee of Twenty of the International Monetary System on reforming the international financial system. Also, during his tenure as Managing Director of the IMF, its membership grew from 91 to 125 countries.
Schweitzer received many honors and decorations, such as the Commander of the Légion d'Honneur
; the Médaille de la Résistance
, and the Croix de Guerre
.
Pierre-Paul Schweitzer died on January 2, 1994 in Geneva
, Switzerland
.
after the outbreak of World War II
. When France
fell in 1940, he joined the French Resistance
and was later captured and held at the Buchenwald concentration camp
, on the outskirts of Weimar
, Germany
, until it was liberated in 1945. Schweitzer is a Nazi concentration camp
survivor.
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
(IMF)'s fourth Managing Director and Chairman of the Executive Board, serving from 1963 to 1973.
Early life and education
He was born on May 29, 1912, in Straßburg, Elsaß-Lothringen, German Empire. He is the father of Louis SchweitzerLouis Schweitzer (CEO)
Louis Schweitzer was the previous Chairman of Renault, first taking that post on 27 May 1992 in succession to Raymond Lévy, and he was also CEO from 1992 to 2005. He is in addition Chairman of AstraZeneca where he was appointed as a Director 11 March 2004...
, CEO of Renault
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
. He was the nephew of Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer OM was a German theologian, organist, philosopher, physician, and medical missionary. He was born in Kaysersberg in the province of Alsace-Lorraine, at that time part of the German Empire...
.
Schweitzer was educated at the University of Strasbourg
University of Strasbourg
The University of Strasbourg in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, is the largest university in France, with about 43,000 students and over 4,000 researchers....
, the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
, and the Paris School of Political Science and received degrees in Law, Economics and Political Science.
Career
In his early career, Schweitzer joined the French Government as an assistant Inspecteur des Finances (1936), before becoming an Inspecteur des Finances (1939). Then he was: Deputy Director for the Department of External Finance of the French Treasury (1946); Alternate Executive Director for France at the IMF (1947); Secretary of the French Interministerial Committee in Charge of Questions on European Economic Cooperation (1948); Financial Attaché at the French Embassy in Washington (1949-1953); Director of the French Treasury (1953-1960). In 1960, he was appointed Deputy Governor of the Bank of France. He also served as a Director of the European Investment BankEuropean Investment Bank
The European Investment Bank is the European Union's long-term lending institution established in 1958 under the Treaty of Rome. A policy-driven bank, the EIB supports the EU’s priority objectives, especially European integration and the development of economically weak regions...
, a Director of Air France
Air France
Air France , stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the French flag carrier headquartered in Tremblay-en-France, , and is one of the world's largest airlines. It is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance...
, and as a government commissioner on the boards of the French Petroleum Company and the French Refinery Company.
On June 21, 1963 Schweitzer was appointed Managing Director and Chairman of the Executive Board of the IMF, and he assumed his duties on September 1, 1963. Schweitzer was appointed to a second five-year term as Managing Director and Chairman of the Board of the IMF on May 15, 1968.
Schweitzer's term as the IMF's Managing Director was a critical period, not only due to the collapse of the Par Value System, but also for the creation of the Special Drawing Rights
Special Drawing Rights
Special Drawing Rights are supplementary foreign exchange reserve assets defined and maintained by the International Monetary Fund . Not a currency, SDRs instead represent a claim to currency held by IMF member countries for which they may be exchanged...
(SDR), as an international reserve asset (1968); the establishment of the two-tier gold market, and the work of the Committee of Twenty of the International Monetary System on reforming the international financial system. Also, during his tenure as Managing Director of the IMF, its membership grew from 91 to 125 countries.
Schweitzer received many honors and decorations, such as the Commander of the Légion d'Honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
; the Médaille de la Résistance
Médaille de la Résistance
The French Médaille de la Résistance was awarded by General Charles de Gaulle "to recognise the remarkable acts of faith and of courage that, in France, in the empire and abroad, have contributed to the resistance of the French people against the enemy and against its accomplices since June 18,...
, and the Croix de Guerre
Croix de guerre
The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...
.
Pierre-Paul Schweitzer died on January 2, 1994 in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
Military service
Schweitzer was commissioned as a lieutenant in the French ArmyFrench Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
after the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. When France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
fell in 1940, he joined the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
and was later captured and held at the Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp was a German Nazi concentration camp established on the Ettersberg near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937, one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps on German soil.Camp prisoners from all over Europe and Russia—Jews, non-Jewish Poles and Slovenes,...
, on the outskirts of Weimar
Weimar
Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, until it was liberated in 1945. Schweitzer is a Nazi concentration camp
Nazi concentration camps
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps set up in Germany were greatly expanded after the Reichstag fire of 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime...
survivor.