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 secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the 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 field there are ...

, public servant and

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Becaus ...

. He was made a life peer in 1977.

Biography

Roll was born in Nowosielitza, Austro-Hungarian Empire and grew up near

Czernowitz Chernivtsi ( uk, Чернівці́}, ; ro, Cernăuți, ; see also other names) is a city in the historical region of Bukovina, which is now divided along the borders of Romania and Ukraine, including this city, which is situated on the up ...

in Bukovina, which became part of

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

and is now part of

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. 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 (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hist ...

. When

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

saw

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

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. His parents then sent him to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in the 1920s and he studied at

Birmingham University , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

. 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 whose ideas fundamentally changed the theory and practice of macroeconomics and the economic policies of governments. Originally trained in ...

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, 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 ...

, however, he was recruited to the civil service 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 (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

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, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

discussions on

Marshall aid The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred over $13 billion (equivalent of about $ in ) in economic re ...

. 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 , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

, but was asked to go to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

as economic minister at the British embassy from 1963 to 1964. Then, when Labour won the 1964 election, he became permanent secretary of the new Department of Economic Affairs, despite not agreeing with its development. Roll was also a director of the Bank of England between 1968 and 1977, chairman of the merchant bankers SG Warburg, and a director of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

''. Roll became Joint President of the Policy Studies Institute, 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 (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 (KCMG) in 1962 and was made an of the

Legion 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 B ...

. He was created a life peer as Baron Roll of Ipsden, of Ipsden in the County of Oxfordshire, 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 *''Crowded Hours'' (autobiography), 1985.

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