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| Karl Otto Poehl, a former president of German central bank, dies at 85 | Karl Otto Poehl, a former president of German central bank, dies at 85 |
| (1 day later) | |
| Karl Otto Poehl, the Bundesbank president who managed the introduction of the deutsche mark in East Germany before reunification in 1990 and helped lay the foundations for Europe’s common currency, died Dec. 9. He was 85. | Karl Otto Poehl, the Bundesbank president who managed the introduction of the deutsche mark in East Germany before reunification in 1990 and helped lay the foundations for Europe’s common currency, died Dec. 9. He was 85. |
| The Frankfurt-based Bundesbank announced the death but did not say where or provide the cause. | The Frankfurt-based Bundesbank announced the death but did not say where or provide the cause. |
| Mr. Poehl upheld the stable money traditions of West Germany’s central bank throughout his tenure from 1980 to 1991. During Helmut Schmidt’s time as West German chancellor, Mr. Poehl battled accelerating inflation of more than 6 percent before Schmidt was removed in a vote of no confidence in 1982. | Mr. Poehl upheld the stable money traditions of West Germany’s central bank throughout his tenure from 1980 to 1991. During Helmut Schmidt’s time as West German chancellor, Mr. Poehl battled accelerating inflation of more than 6 percent before Schmidt was removed in a vote of no confidence in 1982. |
| “Inflation is like toothpaste,” Mr. Poehl said in a 1980 interview with Institutional Investor magazine. “Once it’s out, you can hardly get it back in again. So the best thing is not to squeeze too hard on the tube.” | “Inflation is like toothpaste,” Mr. Poehl said in a 1980 interview with Institutional Investor magazine. “Once it’s out, you can hardly get it back in again. So the best thing is not to squeeze too hard on the tube.” |
| Reestablishing price stability when Helmut Kohl took office, Mr. Poehl predicted the inflation that East Germany’s adoption of the deutsche mark in July 1990 would cause as the country moved toward reunification three months later. | Reestablishing price stability when Helmut Kohl took office, Mr. Poehl predicted the inflation that East Germany’s adoption of the deutsche mark in July 1990 would cause as the country moved toward reunification three months later. |
| Mr. Poehl “delivered proof that price stability and growth, even in a period of great monetary-policy challenges, are not opposites but rather that price stability provides the basis for sustainable growth,” Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann said in a statement. | |
| A Social Democrat appointed by Schmidt, Mr. Poehl was credited with giving West Germany the lowest inflation rate of any industrialized nation during his tenure, the New York Times reported in 1990. | A Social Democrat appointed by Schmidt, Mr. Poehl was credited with giving West Germany the lowest inflation rate of any industrialized nation during his tenure, the New York Times reported in 1990. |
| Initially a reluctant participant in German monetary union, Mr. Poehl presided over a central bank that was often criticized by the U.S. and French governments for failing to stimulate global economic growth, the article said. | Initially a reluctant participant in German monetary union, Mr. Poehl presided over a central bank that was often criticized by the U.S. and French governments for failing to stimulate global economic growth, the article said. |
| “If today there were such a thing as a delectable, international contest for the lowest inflation rate, then you, Mr. Poehl, would be the promoter of this new Olympic discipline,” Bundesbank Vice President Johann Wilhelm Gaddum said in a 1991 speech. | “If today there were such a thing as a delectable, international contest for the lowest inflation rate, then you, Mr. Poehl, would be the promoter of this new Olympic discipline,” Bundesbank Vice President Johann Wilhelm Gaddum said in a 1991 speech. |
| In 1988, Mr. Poehl was a member of the pan-European committee set up to study economic and monetary union, with European Commission President Jacques Delors as chairman. Mr. Poehl and central-bank governors in Europe submitted the so-called Delors Report in April the next year, defining the objectives of monetary union, which included the possible replacement of national currencies with a single European one. | In 1988, Mr. Poehl was a member of the pan-European committee set up to study economic and monetary union, with European Commission President Jacques Delors as chairman. Mr. Poehl and central-bank governors in Europe submitted the so-called Delors Report in April the next year, defining the objectives of monetary union, which included the possible replacement of national currencies with a single European one. |
| In 2001, he warned of the consequences that divergent national policies would have for the European project. | In 2001, he warned of the consequences that divergent national policies would have for the European project. |
| “In the long-term, economic and monetary union will exert pressure to develop a common policy,” he told Germany’s Manager Magazin. “Let’s take fiscal policy. Without an element of coordination, it’s inevitable that tensions will arise in the common market.” | “In the long-term, economic and monetary union will exert pressure to develop a common policy,” he told Germany’s Manager Magazin. “Let’s take fiscal policy. Without an element of coordination, it’s inevitable that tensions will arise in the common market.” |
| Karl Otto Poehl was born in Hanover, Germany, on Dec. 1, 1929. He completed an economics degree in 1955 before heading the publishing department of the Munich-based Ifo Institute for Economic Research until 1960. | Karl Otto Poehl was born in Hanover, Germany, on Dec. 1, 1929. He completed an economics degree in 1955 before heading the publishing department of the Munich-based Ifo Institute for Economic Research until 1960. |
| After working as a journalist specializing in economics for six years in Bonn, the West German capital, Mr. Poehl was an undersecretary in the Finance Ministry from 1972 to 1977. He then became the Bundesbank’s vice president. | |
| Mr. Poehl had two children from his first marriage and two from his second. | Mr. Poehl had two children from his first marriage and two from his second. |
| — Bloomberg News | — Bloomberg News |