In Memoriam: Paul Volcker

Paul A. Volcker, an International Council member and longtime friend of the Belfer Center, passed away on December 8, 2019. He was 92 years old.

A giant of a man both physically and in his contributions to society, he helped shape the American economy under five different presidents.

Known for his independence and doing what was right for the economy despite political and popular pressures, Volcker is best known for ending a long period of high inflation after President Carter chose him as Fed chairman in 1979. In addition to fighting inflation, he worked during the 70s and 80s to limit the easing of financial regulations, noting that the rapidly increasing federal debt was a danger to the country’s financial health.

From 2009-11, Volcker worked under President Obama as Chairman of the Economic Recovery Board that was formed in response to the 2008 financial crisis. In that role, he convinced policymakers to impose new restrictions on big banks—a move known as the “Volcker Rule.”

One of Volcker’s lesser known achievements was his success in helping families of Holocaust victims reclaim deposits that Swiss banks had failed to return. He also investigated corruption within the UN’s Oil for Food program, prompting the President of the World Bank to ask him to lead a review of the Bank’s anti-corruption program, which led to substantial reforms in World Bank procedures.

Belfer Center Director Ash Carter remembers Paul Volcker as a good man dedicated to his work. “Over a life spanning ten decades,” Carter said, “Paul showed the rest of us that doing the right thing—and sticking with it in the face of resistance—can build a better world as nothing else can.” Former Center Director Graham Allison, a friend of Volcker who also worked with him on the Center’s International Council, called him “the very model of a modern public servant.”