Hans Tietmeyer

Hans Tietmeyer (18 August 1931 – 27 December 2016) was a German economist and regarded as one of the foremost experts on international financial matters. He was president of Deutsche Bundesbank from 1993 until 1999 and remained afterwards one of the most important figures in finance of the European Union.[1]

Hans Tietmeyer
Hans Tietmeyer and Helmut Schlesinger
5th President of the German Bundesbank
In office
1 October 1993 – 31 August 1999
Preceded byHelmut Schlesinger
Succeeded byErnst Welteke
Personal details
Born(1931-08-18)18 August 1931
Metelen, Province of Westphalia
Died27 December 2016(2016-12-27) (aged 85)
NationalityGerman
Alma materUniversity of Münster
University of Bonn
University of Cologne

Early life

Hans Tietmeyer was born on 18 August 1931 as the second of 11 children of a Roman Catholic family in Metelen (Westphalia). He graduated from Gymnasium Paulinum and initially studied Roman Catholic theology[2] before switching to economics at the University of Münster, University of Bonn and University of Cologne. Following an academic background of Alfred Müller-Armack and Ludwig Erhard he moved into international banking and economics. At the same time, he became expert at table tennis, winning medals at national championships.

Career

In 1962 Tietmeyer started his career in the Federal Ministry of Economics. As a close aide of economics minister Otto Graf Lambsdorff, he drafted a devastating critique of the economic policies of the Social Democrat-Liberal government of Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, which helped precipitate the coalition’s break-up.

As part of the new government of Chancellor Helmut Kohl which took office in 1982, Tietmeyer became State Secretary in the Ministry of Finance under the leadership of minister Gerhard Stoltenberg; in this capacity, he was responsible for international monetary policy, financial policy, EU matters and the preparation of World Economic Summits (sherpa).[3]

In 1988, members of the far-left Red Army Faction (RAF) fired at Tietmeyer’s Mercedes-Benz outside Bonn, striking the car numerous times but leaving Tietmeyer and his driver uninjured.[4]

Tietmeyer was nominated by the government of Chancellor Helmut Kohl to become a member of the board of directors of the Deutsche Bundesbank in 1990, with responsibility for international monetary issues, organisations and agreements. After two years as Vice President he became President of the Deutsche Bundesbank in 1993, a position he held until August 1999. Shortly after taking office at the Bundesbank, he was also appointed by Kohl as personal adviser for the negotiations with East Germany over the economic and monetary union between the two Germanies that preceded their political unification.[5]

Tietmeyer notably opposed the German government in 1997 over its plans to revalue the country's gold reserves to plug a budget shortfall.[6]

During Tietmeyer's tenure as president of the Bundesbank, the Euro was introduced as the currency for most of the EU. Eight months before his retirement, he oversaw the bank's transition to the European System of Central Banks in the course of the creation of Europe's economic and monetary union in January 1999.[7] At the time Tietmeyer forecast that the common currency would lead to painful internal economic adjustments for member states with trade deficits cumulating into debt. Commentator David Marsh in late 2012 drew attention to that forecast as he highlighted "the significant internal devaluations of their currencies though a sharp fall in unit labor costs" which Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece, for example, have suffered in the European sovereign-debt crisis of 2008 onward. This effect of the Euro is similar to the impact of "the classical gold standard", wrote Marsh in describing the phenomenon.[8]

Tietmeyer published more than 100 articles on the subject of economics and was the recipient of many prestigious awards and prizes and was a member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.

Later career

From January until March 2000, with former president Roman Herzog and former federal judge Paul Kirchhof, Tietmeyer led an independent commission to investigate the CDU donations scandal.[9] He later served on as president of the EBS University of Business and Law from 2000 until 2009.

Tietmeyer served as vice-chairman of the board of directors at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) from 2003 until 2010. In addition, he held the following positions:

Personal life

Tietmayer married Marie-Luise Flossdorf, with whom he had two children. After her death in 1978 he married Marie-Therese Kalff.[11]

References
  1. Ehemaliger Bundesbankpräsident Tietmeyer gestorben (in German)
  2. Jack Ewing (December 28, 2016), Hans Tietmeyer, Banker Who Led German Transition to Euro, Dies at 85 New York Times.
  3. Peter Norman (December 28, 2016), Hans Tietmeyer, central banker, 1931–2016 Financial Times.
  4. Jack Ewing (December 28, 2016), Hans Tietmeyer, Banker Who Led German Transition to Euro, Dies at 85 New York Times.
  5. Peter Norman (December 28, 2016), Hans Tietmeyer, central banker, 1931–2016 Financial Times.
  6. Former Bundesbank president Hans Tietmeyer dies aged 85 BBC News, 28 December 2016.
  7. Peter Norman (December 28, 2016), Hans Tietmeyer, central banker, 1931–2016 Financial Times.
  8. Marsh, David, "Arise, Draghi the optimist" (commentary), MarketWatch, December 24, 2012. Retrieved 2012-12-26
  9. Kohl's Party Names Panel in Funds Probe Los Angeles Times, 15 January 2000.
  10. Donum vitae gründet Stiftung Die Tageszeitung, 18 May 2001.
  11. Peter Norman (December 28, 2016), Hans Tietmeyer, central banker, 1931–2016 Financial Times.
  • "Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. mult. Hans Tietmeyer" (in German). Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt Theological Faculty. Archived from the original on 2005-12-29. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
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