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Helmut Schlesinger
Schlesinger in 1991
5th President of the German Bundesbank
In office 1991–1993
Preceded by	Karl Otto Pöhl
Succeeded by	Hans Tietmeyer
Personal details
Born	(1924-09-04)4 September 1924 Penzberg, Bavaria, Weimar Republic
Died	23 December 2024(2024-12-23) (aged 100) Bad Homburg, Hesse, Germany
Education	University of Munich
Occupation	Economist

Helmut Schlesinger (4 September 1924 – 23 December 2024) was a German economist and President of the Bundesbank from 1991 to 1993. Having worked for the institution and its precursor from 1952, he pursued monetary stability.

Life

Schlesinger was born in Penzberg, Bavaria on 4 September 1924. His schooling was at Bavarian boarding schools until he joined the German military in 1943 and served two years during World War II. He then studied economics at the University of Munich, from where he graduated with a Diplom in 1948, and with a doctorate in economics in 1951. His thesis was about economic efficiency in the public administration sector.

Career

From 1949 to 1952, Schlesinger worked at the Ifo Institute for Economic Research in Munich. Schlesinger entered the precursor of the Deutsche Bundesbank, the Bank Deutscher Länder, in 1952 and ascended rapidly to the position of a department head. In 1956, he served as Head of the Economic Analysis and Forecasting Division. In 1964, he was appointed Head of the Economics and Statistics Department; he became a member of the executive board in 1972. He served as deputy chairman from 1980 to 1991 and as President of the German Central Bank from 1991 to 1993 when he retired, succeeding Karl Otto Pöhl and succeeded by Hans Tietmeyer. His key objective was the stability of the currency. His counter-inflation policies influenced European monetary politics. Remarks by Schlesinger in Handelsblatt in 1992 triggered a financial crisis on the British pound, known as Black Wednesday.

Schlesinger was a distinguished honorary professor at the German University of Administrative Sciences. He was an advisor to IDEAglobal Group, a global financial research organisation.

Personal life

Schlesinger and his wife Carola had four children. He turned 100 on 4 September 2024.

Schlesinger died in Bad Homburg on 23 December 2024.

Awards

Schlesinger was a member of the Orders of Merit and of Chivalry of Germany, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Sweden, and Luxembourg. He received honorary doctorates from the universities Frankfurt (1981), Göttingen (1981), St. Gallen (1993).

References

1. ^ "Prof. Dr. oec. publ. Dr. h.c. mult. Helmut Schlesinger". Deutsche Bundesbank (in German). December 2024. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
2. ^ Henry, David; Randow, Jana (27 December 2024). "Helmut Schlesinger, Bundesbank Leader in 90s Crisis, Dies at 100". BNN Bloomberg. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
3. ^ "Helmut Schlesinger". Deutsche Bundesbank (in German). Retrieved 30 December 2024.
4. ^ "Bundesbank nimmt Abschied von Helmut Schlesinger". Deutsche Bundesbank (in German). 27 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
5. ^ Braunberger, Gerold (27 December 2024). "Schlesinger, quintessential German central banker, turns 100". FAZ (in German). Retrieved 28 December 2024.
6. ^ Marsh, David (3 September 2024). "Schlesinger, quintessential German central banker, turns 100". OMFIF. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
7. Alain Naef (30 September 2022). "A small remark with big consequences: what sparked Black Wednesday?". Economic History Society. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
8. "Lehrende". Universität Speyer (in German). 12 December 2024. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
9. "Prof Dr. Schlesinger". IDEAcarbon. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
10. ^ "Ex-Bundesbank-Präsident Schlesinger gestorben". Hessenschau (in German). 27 December 2024. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
11. "Former Bundesbank President Helmut Schlesinger turns 100". www.bundesbank.de. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
12. "Helmut Franz Schlesinger". lebenswege.faz.net (in German). 30 December 2024. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
13. Hennessy, E.; Messenger, Y., eds. (2001). "Helmut Schlesinger". Who's Who in Central Banking, 2002 (3rd ed.). London: Central Banking Publication. pp. 208–210. ISBN 1-902182-20-0.
14. "Ehrendoktorwürde". Goethe-Universität Frankfurt (in German). Retrieved 30 December 2024.
15. "Ehrendoktorwürde". Georg-August Universität Göttingen (in German). 1 January 1970. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
16. "Ehrendoktorate der Universität St.Gallen (HSG)". HSG Startseite – Universität St.Gallen (in German). Retrieved 30 December 2024.
17. Schlesinger, Prof. Dr. Helmut. "Ehrungen". Prof. Dr. Helmut Schlesinger (in German). Retrieved 30 December 2024.

Further reading

• Bub, Norbert; Duwendag, Dieter; Richter, Rudolf (1989). Geldwertsicherung und Wirtschaftsstabilität (in German). Frankfurt am Main: F. Knapp. ISBN 978-3-7819-0432-3.
• Mink, Reimund; Schlesinger, Helmut (2024). Helmut Schlesinger Wegbereiter und Garant der deutschen Geld- und Stabilitätspolitik wird 100 (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Institute for Monetary and Financial Stability, Goethe University Frankfurt. OCLC 1454846036.
• Nagel, Joachim. "Ehemaliger Bundesbankpräsident Schlesinger feiert 100. Geburtstag". Deutsche Bundesbank. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
• von Furstenberg, George M.; Ulan, Michael K. (1998). "Schlesinger's Steady Honing of Germany's Anti-Inflation Resolve". Learning from the World's Best Central Bankers. Boston, MA: Springer US. doi:10.1007/978-1-4615-4959-8_4. ISBN 978-0-7923-8304-8.

External links

• Official website (in German)

v t e Presidents of the Deutsche Bundesbank
Bernard [de; ru] Vocke Blessing Klasen Emminger Pöhl Schlesinger Tietmeyer Welteke Stark Weber Weidmann Nagel
* indicates acting president

• 1924 births
• 2024 deaths
• People from Weilheim-Schongau
• Presidents of the Deutsche Bundesbank
• German men centenarians
• German chief executives
• German economists
• Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany