Eric Roll, Baron Roll of Ipsden (born Erich Roll; 1 December 1907 – 30 March 2005) was a British

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

, public servant and banker. He was made a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

in 1977.

Biography

Roll was born in Nowosielitza, Austro-Hungarian Empire and grew up near Czernowitz in Bukovina, which became part of

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

and is now part of

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. His parents, Matthias and Fanny Roll, were of Middle European origin. His father was a bank manager, and his mother's brother was a distinguished member of the law faculty at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

. When

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

saw

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n troops burn down the village, his family took refuge in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. His parents then sent him to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in the 1920s and he studied at Birmingham University. Shortly afterwards, he completed his PhD and published his first book. He mixed with artistic and creative circles. By the age of 28, Roll became Professor of Economics and Commerce at University College, Hull, appointed with the backing of

John Maynard Keynes John Maynard Keynes, 1st Baron Keynes ( ; 5 June 1883 – 21 April 1946), was an English economist and philosopher whose ideas fundamentally changed the theory and practice of macroeconomics and the economic policies of governments. Originall ...

and Lord Stamp. Perhaps his most enduring work from this time was the publication in 1938 of his book ''A History of Economic Thought'', which subsequently went through several editions. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, however, he was recruited to the

civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

as deputy head of the British Food Mission (1941–1946), where he was principally involved in the procurement of food supplies - most notably dried eggs. He made a number of contacts in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and rejected the offer to head the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, instead joining the British Ministry of Food. His economic experience and contacts made him invaluable in the post-war government and he was the British representative in the

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

discussions on Marshall aid. He played an important role in the setting up of European and trans-Atlantic institutions before rejoining the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. Roll was about to accept the vice-chancellorship of Liverpool University, but was asked to go to Washington, D.C. as economic minister at the British embassy from 1963 to 1964. Then, when Labour won the 1964 election, he became

permanent secretary A permanent secretary is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are ...

of the new Department of Economic Affairs, despite not agreeing with its development. Roll was also a director of the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...

between 1968 and 1977, chairman of the

merchant bank A merchant bank is historically a bank dealing in commercial loans and investment. In modern British usage, it is the same as an investment bank. Merchant banks were the first modern banks and evolved from medieval merchants who traded in comm ...

ers SG Warburg, and a director of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

''. Roll became Joint President of the

Policy Studies Institute The Policy Studies Institute (PSI) is a British think-tank and research institute. PSI began in 1931 as Political and Economic Planning and became the Policy Studies Institute in 1978 on its merger with the Centre for Studies in Social Policy (est ...

, London, in 1978. He was Chancellor of Southampton University 1974-84. He was chairman of the Bilderberg meetings between 1986 and 1989.

Honours

Roll was appointed a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...

(CMG) in 1949, a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1956 and a

Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

(KCMG) in 1962 and was made an of the Legion d'Honneur. He was created a

as Baron Roll of Ipsden, of Ipsden in the County of

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

, on 19 July 1977.

Personal life

Roll married Winifred Taylor in 1934 and they had two daughters, Joanna and Elizabeth. Lady Roll died in 1998.

Major publications

* *''An Early Experiment in Industrial Organization: History of the Firm of Boulton and Watt 1775-1805'', Routledge, 1968 * *

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roll, Eric 1907 births 2005 deaths Academics of the University of Hull Austrian emigrants to the United Kingdom Roll of Ipsden Chairmen of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group British economists Historians of economic thought Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for Economic Affairs Civil servants in the Ministry of Food Civil servants in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Companions of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group Alumni of the University of Birmingham Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom People from Chernivtsi Chancellors of the University of Southampton Life peers created by Elizabeth II