Alexandre Hay
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Alexandre Hay (29 October 1919 – 23 August 1991) was a Swiss lawyer. From 1966 to 1976 he was Vice President of the Board of the
Swiss National Bank The Swiss National Bank (SNB; german: Schweizerische Nationalbank; french: Banque nationale suisse; it, Banca nazionale svizzera; rm, Banca naziunala svizra) is the central bank of Switzerland, responsible for the nation's monetary policy an ...
. Later, from 1976 to 1987 he was President of the
International Committee of the Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...
(ICRC).


Biography

Hay was born on 29 October 1919 to Frédérik and Lydia Hay-Trachsler in
Berne german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...
. The majority of his youth was spent in the politically tense pre-war climate of
Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
. There he studied law at the College of Geneva and passed the bar exam in 1944. From 1942 to 1945 he worked as a lawyer in Geneva. In 1945 Hay went to work for the consular service of the
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA, german: Eidgenössisches Departement für auswärtige Angelegenheiten, french: Département fédéral des affaires étrangères, it, Dipartimento federale degli affari esteri, rm, ), so name ...
in Paris. A year later he was appointed Attaché de légation. Then in 1948 he was promoted to Class II Secretary of Legation making him responsible for Swiss economic and financial interests in France. In 1952 became an executive member of the
European Payments Union The European Payments Union (EPU) was an organization in existence from July 1950 to December 1958, when it was replaced by the European Monetary Agreement. With the end of World War II, economic depression struck Europe. Of all the non-neutral ...
. A year later he became department head for the Zurich branch of the Swiss National Bank. From 1955 to 1966 he was director and assistant director of the department of the Second Bank of Bern. From 1966 to 1976 he was vice president and general manager of the executive board of the bank. Hay was married in 1945 to Hélène Morin of France. They had two sons and two daughters. After the death of his wife in 1973 he married a second time, to Verena Vogler in 1980.


ICRC Presidency

In 1975, Hay became a member of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). A year later, on 1 July 1976, he took over as president of the committee, succeeding Eric Martin. By the end of the year, he shared the presidency with Roger Gallopin, the president of the Assembly Council, before he took over this function. During his eleven years as president the budget increased from 50 million to 250 million CHF and the number of staff and delegates tripled. This was partially due to the steady increase in the number and duration of armed conflicts. During his tenure, 250,000 refugees were removed from Cambodia by the Thai government. Increasingly, governments began ignoring their commitments under the Geneva Conventions and others. From 1980 to 1988, chemical weapons were deployed in fighting during the
Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations Security Council ...
in violation of their commitment under the Geneva Conventions. Hay repeatedly protested against these violations but with no significant result. Hay was especially concerned with establishing good relations between the ICRC and various Red Cross and Red Crescent societies around the world. His successor was Cornelio Sommaruga who took over in 1987 but Hay remained a member of the ICRC until 1989.


Awards

*Honorary doctorate from the
University of St. Gallen A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
*Honorary doctorate from the
University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centu ...
*In 1990 he was appointed an honorary Companion of the
Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
, "for eminent service to humanity at large".


References


Further reading

* Georges-André Chevallaz, Alexandre Hay, Gaston Gaudard: ''Helvetische Perspektiven: 1291 - 1991.'' Ed. Libertas, Biel 1989 * Alexandre Hay: ''Die Tätigkeit der OCDE.'' Verband Schweizerischer Holding- und Finanzgesellschaften, Zürich 1962 * Caroline Moorehead: ''Dunant's dream: War, Switzerland and the history of the Red Cross.'' HarperCollins, London 1998, (Hardcover); HarperCollins, London 1999, (Paperback)


External links

*
Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement History - Alexandre Hay
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hay, Alexandre Red Cross personnel Lawyers from Geneva Swiss bankers 1919 births 1991 deaths Honorary Companions of the Order of Australia 20th-century Swiss lawyers