Alden Clausen

Alden Clausen   ( central banker)
Born	Alden Winship Clausen February 17, 1923  Hamilton,  Illinois,  U.S.
Died	January 21, 2013 (Age 89)  Burlingame,  California,  U.S.
Nationality	US
Alma mater	•  Carthage College •  University of Minnesota (Twin Cities)
Interests	structural adjustment
Party	Republican
President of the World Bank from 1981 to 1986, where he scaled up forced structural adjustment programs on borrowing counties. Attended 2 Bilderberg meeting, 1 Jackson Hole meeting and at least one WEF annual meeting. Also president and CEO of Bank of America.  President of the World Bank Group In office July 1, 1981 - July 1, 1986 Preceded by Robert McNamaraRobert McNamara Succeeded by Barber Conable Attended the 1983 and 1985 Bilderbergs, the 1984 WEF Annual meeting and the 1986 Jackson Hole

Alden Winship "Tom" Clausen was a US central banker. He was President of the World Bank from 1981 to 1986, where he scaled up forced structural adjustment programs on lending counties, and attended 2 Bilderberg meetings. He was also president and CEO of Bank of America in 1970 and again after 1986.

Education

Clausen was born in Hamilton, Illinois to a family of Norwegian and German ancestry. He was the son of Morton Clausen, owner, editor and publisher of the Hamilton Press, the town's weekly newspaper. His mother was Elsie Emma Kroll. He graduated from Carthage College in 1944 with a BA (and was awarded an honorary LLD in 1970), from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1949 with a LLB, and attended the Harvard University's six-week Advanced Management Program in 1966.

Bank of America

Clausen was certified to practice law after graduating from the University of Minnesota Law School, but instead he got a job at the Bank of America in Los Angeles, California. He became vice president in 1961, senior vice president in 1965, executive vice president in 1968, vice chairman of the board in 1969, and president and CEO in 1970.

World Bank

In 1981 Clausen was appointed president of the World Bank. He was replaced 5 years later by Barber Conable. His term as World Bank president saw the massive scaling up of structural adjustment lending that had been introduced under his predecessor Robert McNamara.

Return to Bank of America

Clausen returned to Bank of America as chairman and CEO in 1986 but stepped back from an active executive role in 1990 to be chairman of the executive committee. During his time at the bank he helped it grow to be the biggest commercial bank in the United States. Clausen was also a member of the Advisor Council of SRI International and was on the board of governors of United Way.

Legacy

• In 1980, Clausen received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented by Awards Council member Stephen Bechtel Sr.
• A.W. Clausen Center for World Business at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, is named in his honor.

 

Events Participated in

Event	Start	End	Location(s)	Description
Bilderberg/1983	13 May 1983	15 May 1983	Canada Quebec Château Montebello	The 31st Bilderberg, held in Canada
Bilderberg/1985	10 May 1985	12 May 1985	New York US Arrowwood of Westchester Rye Brook	The 33rd Bilderberg, held in Canada
International Monetary Conference/1970	17 May 1970	20 May 1970	US Virginia Hot Springs The Homestead	Secretive meeting of the world's top bankers.
International Monetary Conference/1982	24 May 1982	27 May 1982	Canada Vancouver British Columbia Four Seasons Hotel	Secretive annual meeting of the world's bank leaders.
Jackson Hole/Meeting/1986			Wyoming Jackson Hole	The 1986 Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium
WEF/Annual Meeting/1984	February 1984	February 1984	Switzerland WEF	By 1984, the Informal Gathering of World Economic Leaders (IGWEL) had already become a useful place for leaders to launch new ideas. Many initiatives that were later officially undertaken by international organizations or governments were in fact born in Davos.

Many thanks to our Patrons who cover ~2/3 of our hosting bill. Please join them if you can.