Leslie O'Brien, Baron O'Brien of Lothbury

Leslie Kenneth O'Brien, Baron O'Brien of Lothbury, of the City of London GBE PC ( born February 8, 1908 in Dulwich, London, † November 24, 1995 in Redhill, Surrey ) was a British banker, who between 1966 and 1973 Governor of the Bank of England was, and was founded in 1973 as a life peer, due to the Life peerages Act 1958 a member of the House of Lords.

Life

O'Brien was after visiting the Wandsworth School 1927 employee of the Bank of England and spent his whole career until 1973. After he was 1951-1955 first deputy chief cashier, he served from 1955 to 1962 as Chief Cashier (Chief Cashier ). Subsequently, he was between 1962 and 1964 Managing Director ( Executive Director) and subsequently deputy governor.

1966 O'Brien as the successor to Rowland Baring, 3rd Earl of Cromer, finally, even the governor of the Bank of England, and held this position until his replacement by Gordon Richardson 1973. 1967 he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire and led since the additional name "Sir". In addition, he was also Privy Councillor in 1970.

During his tenure as Governor of the Bank of England had in 1967 the pound sterling done a renewed decline, because the country had fallen in world trade and therefore had worsened its balance of payments over the years. On November 18, 1967, the pound sterling lost 17 ​​percent of its value since the British government deflationary measures demanded by the International Monetary Fund for an expansion of credit, did not want to accept. The devaluation of the pound sterling and the enormous loss of value of the U.S. dollar against the gold standard in the early 1970s led to the final collapse of the Bretton Woods system.

1971 renounced the Bank of England to the instrument of credit ceilings, but that was awarded the reserve. On February 15, 1971 Founded in the 9th century, based on the Carolingian coinage English coinage system was replaced by the customary international decimal system. A British Pound Sterling is divided into 100 pence since

After completing his duties as Governor of the Bank of England, he was raised by a Letters Patent of 14 March 1973 as a life peer with the title Baron O'Brien of Lothbury, of the City of London to the peerage, and he was up to his death the House of Lords as a member. During this time he was 1973-1980 president of the Association of British bankers (British Bankers' Association).