Dr. Gerhardus Petrus Christiaan de Kock better known as Gerhard de Kock (14 February 1926 – 7 August 1989) was the sixth Governor of the

South African Reserve Bank The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) is the central bank of South Africa. It was established in 1921 after Parliament passed an act, the "Currency and Bank Act of 10 August 1920", as a direct result of the abnormal monetary and financial condit ...

. He was the son of Dr. M.H. de Kock, who was the third Governor of the South African Reserve Bank. South Africa's constitutional arrangements were changed during his term in office. The 1st Republic was superseded by the 2nd Republic in late 1984. Dr. de Kock was the first (and only) Governor of the South African Reserve Bank to die in office. His term was from 1 January 1981 until his death on 7 August 1989. He was succeeded by Dr.

Chris Stals Dr. Christian Lodewyk Stals, better known as Chris Stals (born 13 March 1934) was the seventh Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, serving from 8 August 1989 to 7 August 1999. He succeeded Dr. Gerhard de Kock who had died in office. He ...

. As early as 1951 Dr Gerhardus de Kock was engaged by the Reserve Bank to do specialised research on a part-time basis. At the end of 1955 he joined the Bank as an economist. Shortly after his appointment at the Bank he was chosen to represent the Bank at the first course presented by 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 English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...

for foreign bank officials in London. As from 1 July 1962 the position held by Dr De Kock was changed to Economic Adviser and on 1 January 1964 he was appointed Head: Economics Department. In 1967 the status of his post was upgraded and he started to attend the meetings of the Board of Directors. In May 1966 he was seconded to the Treasury as a Special Economic Adviser for 14 months. He finally left the Economics Department towards the middle of 1968 when he was appointed Alternate Executive Director of the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...

in Washington, DC, as the representative of South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Lesotho and Swaziland, a position which he held with distinction up to the middle of 1971. On his return to South Africa, Dr. de Kock was appointed as a Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank with effect from 1 July 1971 and then to Senior Deputy Governor on 1 July 1976. In 1977 Dr. De Kock was seconded to the Ministry of Finance as a Special Economic Adviser. He was also appointed during this period as the Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry into the Monetary System and Monetary Policy in South Africa. This commission eventually became known as the De Kock Commission. The final phase in Dr. De Kock’s career began when he succeeded Dr. T. W. de Jongh as Reserve Bank Governor, a position he held until his death in August 1989. Dr. de Kock also served as a Director and later as Chairman of the National Finance Corporation and its "successor" the Corporation for Public Deposits. Other positions occupied by him included that of Alternate Governor (later Governor) for South Africa on the Board of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank), Governor for South Africa on the Board of the Development Bank for Southern Africa, member of the Committee of Twenty and member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council. Dr De Kock played an important role in professional bodies through active participation and delivering lectures. In 1980 and 1981 he was the President of the Economic Society of South Africa and also served one term as President of the Institute of Bankers in South Africa. Honorary doctorates and awards received / bestowed on Dr de Kock included the following: *1982 - D.Econ. (University of Natal) *1983 - Stals Prize for Economics - (SA Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns) *1987 - D. Com. (University of Port Elizabeth) *1988 - D.Com. (University of Pretoria & Potchefstroom University for CHE) *1990 - Frans du Toit Medal - (SA Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns) Other distinctions included his election as an honorary Fellow of the Institute of Bankers in South Africa in 1984 and his election by

Euromoney ''Euromoney'' is an English-language monthly magazine focused on business and finance. First published in 1969, it is the flagship production of Euromoney Institutional Investor plc. History and profile ''Euromoney'' was first published in 19 ...

magazine as "Central Banker of the Year" in 1988. After his death the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was ...

instituted the Gerhard de Kock Memorial Lecture, which was delivered annually by a prominent personality in the field of central banking. A bronze bust of Dr de Kock by the sculptor Jo Roos remains to this day, to the entrance of the Gerhard de Kock Auditorium in the Head Office Building of the Reserve Bank.
''South African Reserve Bank'' website, retrieved 13 September 2015

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:de Kock, Gerhardus Petrus Christiaan 1926 births 1989 deaths Afrikaner people Governors of the South African Reserve Bank 20th-century South African businesspeople 20th-century South African economists