Wanda Jablonski (23 August 1920, in
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
– 28 January 1992, in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
) was an American
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
who covered the global
petroleum
Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...
industry. She was called "the most influential oil journalist of her time" in
Daniel Yergin
Daniel Howard Yergin (born February 6, 1947) is an American author, speaker, energy expert, and economic historian. Yergin is vice chairman of S&P Global. He was formerly vice chairman of IHS Markit, which merged with S&P in 2022. He founded Ca ...
's ''
The Prize''.
Early life and education
Jablonski was the daughter of Polish
petroleum geologist
A petroleum geologist is an earth scientist who works in the field of petroleum geology, which involves all aspects of oil discovery and production. Petroleum geologists are usually linked to the actual discovery of oil and the identification of po ...
Eugene Jablonski, and was immersed in the oil industry throughout her childhood.
She studied at
St George's School, Harpenden
(Aim Higher)
, established = 1907
, type = AcademyDay and boarding school
, religious_affiliation = Christian
, head_label = Headteacher
, head = Helen Barton
, r_head_label =
, r_head = Stephen Warner ...
in England until July 1937, where she gained her school certificate and got the form prize in July 1938 before leaving to study in America.
She and her parents traveled widely, and although she became an American citizen, she developed great sympathy for other cultures – an attribute which as an adult enabled her to make deep contacts across the world oil industry, from the multinational oil companies to the leaders of oil-producing countries.
Jablonski earned a B.A. from
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
in 1942 and an M.A. from the
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City.
Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism s ...
the following year.
Career
Jablonski began as the oil editor at the ''
Journal of Commerce
''The Journal of Commerce'' is a biweekly magazine published in the United States that focuses on global trade topics. First published in 1827 in New York, it has a circulation of approximately 15,000. It provides editorial content to manage da ...
'', where she made her mark with a 1948 interview in
Caracas
Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...
with
Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso
''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish language, Spanish and Manx language, Manx versions of ''John (given name), John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronoun ...
, then the
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
n oil minister, which cleverly synthesized the developing nations' viewpoint, in those days rarely heard in the Western hemisphere. She moved to ''
Petroleum Week'' journal in 1954 and cemented her reputation, speaking on equal terms with oil ministers and company chairmen. A rare woman in a man's world, she was known throughout the oil industry simply as "Wanda".
She is credited with arranging the 1959 Cairo meeting where
Abdullah Tariki
Abdullah Tariki (19 March 1919–7 September 1997) (Arabic: عبدالله الطريقي), also known as Red Sheikh, was a Saudi politician and government official. He was the first Saudi oil minister appointed by King Saud, and co-founder of Or ...
,
Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso
''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish language, Spanish and Manx language, Manx versions of ''John (given name), John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronoun ...
, and other oil ministers of Middle East signed the "Gentleman’s Agreement," a precursor of
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC, ) is a cartel of countries. Founded on 14 September 1960 in Baghdad by the first five members (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela), it has, since 1965, been headquart ...
(OPEC), the international organization whose mission is to coordinate the policies of the oil-producing countries.
In 1960, Jablonski reported to oil company executives that there was a marked hostility toward the West and a growing outcry against "absentee landlordism" in the Middle East.
"From offices in London, New York and Pittsburgh, top executives of oil companies were controlling destinies of Middle East oil-producing states."
Ignoring her warning, in August 1960 the major oil companies unilaterally reduced the prices that were used to calculate how much revenue the producing countries received. As a direct result, in September 1960, representatives from oil-producing countries met and formed OPEC.
She then founded ''
Petroleum Intelligence Weekly
Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...
'' in 1961, the journal which came to be known as "the bible of the oil industry", and ran it until 1988.
Jablonski died in 1992 of heart failure at the age of 71.
References
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jablonski, Wanda
1920 births
1992 deaths
American women journalists
American people of Polish descent
20th-century American writers
20th-century American women writers
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni
Cornell University alumni
People in the petroleum industry
Petroleum economics
20th-century American journalists
Czechoslovak expatriates in the United Kingdom
Czechoslovak emigrants to the United States