Pierre-Paul Schweitzer (; 29 May 1912 – 2 January 1994) was a French businessman who served as the fourth managing 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 ...

(IMF) from 1963 to 1973.

Early life and education

He was born on 29 May 1912, in Straßburg, Elsaß-Lothringen, German Empire. He is the father of Louis Schweitzer,

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...

. He was the nephew of

Albert Schweitzer Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was an Alsatian-German/French polymath. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. A Lutheran minister, Schwei ...

. Schweitzer was educated at the

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. The French university traces its history to the ea ...

, the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

, and the Paris School of Political Science (

Sciences Po , motto_lang = fr , mottoeng = Roots of the Future , type = Public university, Public research university''Grande école'' , established = , founder = Émile Boutmy , a ...

) 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 The Bank of France ( French: ''Banque de France''), headquartered in Paris, is the central bank of France. Founded in 1800, it began as a private institution for managing state debts and issuing notes. It is responsible for the accounts of the F ...

. He also served as a director of the

European Investment Bank The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union's investment bank and is owned by the EU Member States. It is one of the largest supranational lenders in the world. The EIB finances and invests both through equity and debt solutions ...

, a director of

Air France Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global air ...

, and as a government commissioner on the boards of the French Petroleum Company and the French Refinery Company. On 21 June 1963 Schweitzer was appointed managing director and chairman of the executive board of the IMF, and he assumed his duties on 1 September 1963. Schweitzer was appointed to a second five-year term as managing director and chairman of the board of the IMF on 15 May 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 (SDRs, code ) are supplementary foreign exchange reserve assets defined and maintained by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). SDRs are units of account for the IMF, and not a currency ''per se''. They represent a claim ...

(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 National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

; the

Médaille de la Résistance The Resistance Medal (french: Médaille de la Résistance) was a decoration bestowed by the French Committee of National Liberation, based in the United Kingdom, during World War II. It was established by a decree of General Charles de Gaulle on 9 ...

, and the

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') 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 first awa ...

. He was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

in 1972. Schweitzer died on 2 January 1994 in

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 ...

, Switzerland.

Military service

Schweitzer was commissioned as a lieutenant in the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

after the outbreak of World War II. When France fell in 1940, he joined the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

and was later captured and held at the

Buchenwald concentration camp Buchenwald (; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within Germany's 1937 borders. Many actual or su ...

, on the outskirts of

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

, Germany, until it was liberated in 1945. Schweitzer was a

Nazi concentration camp From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as concen ...

survivor.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schweitzer, Pierre-Paul 1912 births 1994 deaths Businesspeople from Strasbourg Buchenwald concentration camp survivors Managing directors of the International Monetary Fund Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Resistance Medal Recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France) French officials of the United Nations French Army personnel of World War II French Army officers French Resistance members Members of the American Philosophical Society