Helmut Schlesinger

Early life and education

Schlesinger was born in Penzberg, Bavaria, on 4 September 1924.^[1] His schooling was at Bavarian boarding schools until he joined the German military in 1943 and served for two years during World War II.^[2] He then studied economics at the University of Munich, from which he graduated with a Diplom in 1948, and with a doctorate in economics in 1951.^[1] His thesis was about economic efficiency in the public administration sector.^[3]

Career

From 1949 to 1952, Schlesinger worked at the Ifo Institute for Economic Research in Munich.^[2] He entered the precursor of the Deutsche Bundesbank, the Bank deutscher Länder, in 1952 and ascended rapidly to the position of a department head.^[4] In 1956, he served as Head of the Economic Analysis and Forecasting Division.^[3] In 1964, he was appointed Head of the Economics and Statistics Department; he became a member of the executive board in 1972.^[3] He served as deputy chairman from 1980 to 1991 and as President of the German Central Bank from 1991 to 1993 when he retired,^[4] succeeding Karl Otto Pöhl and succeeded by Hans Tietmeyer. His key objective was the stability of the currency.^[4][5] His counter-inflation policies influenced European monetary politics.^[6][5] Remarks by Schlesinger in Handelsblatt in 1992 triggered a financial crisis for the British pound that became known as Black Wednesday.^[7]

Schlesinger was a distinguished honorary professor at the German University of Administrative Sciences.^[8] He was an advisor to IDEAglobal Group, a global financial research organisation.^[9]

Personal life

Schlesinger and his wife Carola had four children.^[10] He turned 100 on 4 September 2024,^[6][11] and died in Bad Homburg three months later, on 23 December.^{[12][2][4][10]}