Baron Cecil de Strycker (1915–2004) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

economist,

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

, and former governor of the

National Bank of Belgium The National Bank of Belgium (NBB; nl, Nationale Bank van België, french: Banque nationale de Belgique, german: Belgische Nationalbank) has been the central bank of Belgium since 1850. The National Bank of Belgium was established with 100% pr ...

(NBB) from 1975 until 1982. Under his management, the NBB established the Central Balance Sheet Office and the Central Office of Consumer Credit and a new wing was added to the Brussels headquarters of the Bank. He obtained a PhD in commercial sciences with a thesis on the National Bank. He joined the NBB in 1945 as an executive in the Foreign Affairs department, and in 1958 he was appointed as a director at the bank. In 1968 he became a member of the

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...

's Monetary Committee. In 1971 he succeeded

Franz de Voghel Franz may refer to: People * Franz (given name) * Franz (surname) Places * Franz (crater), a lunar crater * Franz, Ontario, a railway junction and unorganized town in Canada * Franz Lake, in the state of Washington, United States – see Fran ...

as vice-governor of the Bank, and he was appointed governor in 1975. During his tenure as governor of the NBB, the management of the Bank remained resolute in the face of ever-increasing calls for a devaluation of the

belgian franc The Belgian franc ( nl, Belgische frank, french: Franc belge, german: Belgischer Franken) was the currency of the Kingdom of Belgium from 1832 until 2002 when the Euro was introduced. It was subdivided into 100 subunits, each known as a in Dutch ...

to resolve the crisis which hit Belgium in the 1970s. As an alternative, Cecil de Strycker emphasised the need for an effective recovery policy and wage moderation. He played an important role on the Committee of Governors of the Central Banks of the Member States of the European Economic Community and in the

European Monetary Cooperation Fund The European Monetary Cooperation Fund (EMCF) was a fund established in April 1973 by members of the European Economic Community (EEC) to ensure concerted action for a proper functioning of the Community exchange system. The EMCF was located in Lu ...

, and in 1978 he became the president of both these institutions. In 1979, the

European Monetary System The European Monetary System (EMS) was a multilateral adjustable exchange rate agreement in which most of the nations of the European Economic Community (EEC) linked their currencies to prevent large fluctuations in relative value. It was initiate ...

was launched, which based on the ECU. On 19 February 1982 the Belgian government of Martens V, informed him that a devaluation of the Belgian franc was imminent. The National Bank had not been directly involved in the preparations for the devaluation, which had been prepared by

Alfons Verplaetse Alfons "Fons" Remi Emiel, Viscount Verplaetse (19 February 1930 – 15 October 2020) was a Belgian economist who served as Governor of the National Bank of Belgium (NBB) from 1989 until 1999. He was one of the architects of the devaluation of the ...

and

Jacques van Ypersele de Strihou Jacques Marie Joseph Hubert Ghislain van Ypersele de Strihou (born 5 December 1936), was the ''Principal Private Secretary'' to the King of the Belgians (1983–2013). When Albert II of Belgium succeeded his brother Baudouin I of Belgium, he kept ...

. Cecil de Strycker retired in March 1982

Sources

SE MURIÓ EL BARÓN DE STRYCKER

2004 deaths Belgian economists 20th-century Belgian civil servants Governors of the National Bank of Belgium 1915 births {{Belgium-bio-stub