Barber Benjamin Conable Jr. (November 2, 1922 – November 30, 2003) was a U.S. Congressman from New York and former

President of the World Bank Group The president of the World Bank Group is the head of World Bank Group. The president is responsible for chairing the meetings of the boards of directors and for overall management of the World Bank Group. Traditionally, the World Bank Group presid ...

Biography

Conable was born in Warsaw, New York on November 2, 1922. Conable was an

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle S ...

and received the

Distinguished Eagle Scout Award The Distinguished Eagle Scout Award (DESA) is a distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). It is awarded to an Eagle Scout for distinguished service in his profession and to his community for a period of at least 25 years aft ...

from the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded ...

. He graduated 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 tea ...

in 1942, where he was president of the

Quill and Dagger Quill and Dagger is a senior honor society at Cornell University. It is often recognized as one of the most prominent societies of its type, along with Skull and Bones and Scroll and Key at Yale University. In 1929, ''The New York Times'' stated ...

society and a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He then enlisted in the

Marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

and was sent to the Pacific front in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, where he learned to speak

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

and fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima. After the war, he received his law degree from

Cornell University Law School Cornell Law School is the law school of Cornell University, a private Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. One of the five Ivy League law schools, it offers four law degree programs, JD, LLM, MSLS and JSD, along with several dual-deg ...

in 1948, where he lived at the

Cornell Branch of the Telluride Association The Telluride House, formally the Cornell Branch of the Telluride Association (CBTA), and commonly referred to as just "Telluride", is a highly selective residential community of Cornell University students and faculty. Founded in 1910 by Ame ...

, having been admitted to the House as a law student, after an unsuccessful attempt as an undergraduate. He later re-enlisted and fought in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. In 1962, Conable was elected as a Republican to the New York State Senate. After only one term, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1964 from a

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

-based district. He was reelected nine more times. He was known on both sides of the aisle for his honesty and integrity, at one point being voted by his colleagues the "most respected" member of Congress; he refused to accept personal contributions larger than $50. As a longtime ranking minority member of the House Ways and Means Committee, one of his signal legislative achievements was a provision in the U.S. tax code that made so-called 401(k) and 403(b) defined-contribution retirement plans possible, and contributions to those plans by both employers and employees tax-deferred, under federal tax law. Barber Conable on April 5, 1973 (cropped)

Barber Conable on April 5, 1973 (cropped)

A long-time ally of

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

, Conable broke with him in disgust after the revelations of the

Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's contin ...

. When the White House released a tape of Nixon instructing his Chief of Staff

H. R. Haldeman Harry Robbins Haldeman (October 27, 1926 – November 12, 1993) was an American political aide and businessman, best known for his service as White House Chief of Staff to President Richard Nixon and his consequent involvement in the Watergate s ...

to obstruct the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

investigation, Conable said it was a "smoking gun", a phrase which quickly entered the political folklore. In 1980, Conable appeared in

Milton Friedman Milton Friedman (; July 31, 1912 – November 16, 2006) was an American economist and statistician who received the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his research on consumption analysis, monetary history and theory and the ...

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

documentary '' Free to Choose''. (Conable's segment begins at approximately 37:20) Conable retired from the House in 1984. In 1986, President Ronald Reagan appointed him president of the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

. His experience as a legislator proved crucial as he persuaded his former colleagues to almost double Congress's appropriations for the bank. He retired in 1991. In 1952, Conable married Charlotte Williams, his wife until his death. He died from a staphylococcus infection in 2003, at his winter home in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sou ...

Literature by and about Conable

* ''Window on Congress: A Congressional Biography of Barber B. Conable Jr.'', James S. Fleming, Rochester, New York: University of Rochester Press, 2004, . * ''The Conable Years at the World Bank: Major Policy Addresses of Barber B. Conable, 1986–91'', Barber B. Conable Jr., Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 1991, . * ''Congress and The Income Tax'', Barber B. Conable Jr. and Arthur L. Singleton, Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1989, . * ''Controlling the Cost of Social Security: Held on June 25, 1981, and Sponsored by the

American Enterprise Institute The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, known simply as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), is a center-right Washington, D.C.–based think tank that researches government, politics, economics, and social welfare. A ...

for Public Policy Research'', Barber B. Conable Jr., John Charles, et al., Washington, D.C.: The Institute, 1981, . * ''Foreign Assistance in a Time of Constraints'', Barber B. Conable Jr., Richard S. Belous, S. Dahlia Stern, and Nita Christine Kent, eds., Washington, D.C.: National Planning Association, 1995, .
Papers
at Cornell University.

References

External links

Conable's career at the World Bank
*

* ttps://www.theguardian.com/usa/story/0,12271,1098611,00.html Conable's obituary in the ''Guardian''
Conable in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
* , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Conable, Barber 1922 births 2003 deaths 20th-century American politicians United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War Burials in New York (state) Cornell Law School alumni Deaths from staphylococcal infection Infectious disease deaths in Florida Republican Party New York (state) state senators People from Warsaw, New York Presidents of the World Bank Group Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) United States Marines