German economist, professor, and banker
Axel Alfred Weber (born 8 March 1957) is a German
economist , professor, and banker. He is currently a board member and chairman of Swiss investment bank and
financial services company,
UBS Group AG ,
[1] and has announced his resignation effective 7 April 2022.
He was the president of the
Deutsche Bundesbank and a member of the
European Central Bank Governing Council from 30 April 2004 to 30 April 2011.
[2] He is also a member of the
Group of Thirty .
[1]
Early life and education
Weber was born in
Kusel , Germany.
[3] He studied
economics and
public administration at the
University of Constance from 1976 to 1982 and graduated with a master's degree (
Diplom ) in economics.
[4]
[5]
After obtaining a
Dr. rer. pol. in economics from the
University of Siegen ,
[5] Germany in 1987, Weber pursued his scientific studies abroad at the
University of London and
Tilburg University . Between 1992 and 1993, Weber spent an academic year in
Washington, D.C. while teaching.
[3] In 1994, Weber received his habilitation in Economics from the
University of Siegen .
[6] He also holds honorary doctorates from the
University of Duisburg-Essen
[5] and the
University of Konstanz .
[4]
Career
From 1982 to 1988 Weber worked as research assistant in the field of
monetary economics at the
University of Siegen and was awarded a
Doctorate in 1987.
[7] After gaining his
habilitation at the University Siegen in 1994, he was appointed Professor of Economic Theory at the
University of Bonn , and moved to the
Goethe University Frankfurt in 1998.
[8]
[9] He was also the Director of the
Center for Financial Studies in
Frankfurt am Main from 1998 to 2001
[7] and of the Center for Financial Research at the University of Cologne from 2001 to 2004.
In 2001 Weber was appointed Professor of
International Economics at the
University of Cologne , and from 2002 to 2004 he was a Member of the
German Council of Economic Experts .
[10] From 2002 until 2011 he was a member of the expert advisory panel to the
Deutsche Bundesbank .
[7]
Bundesbank
Weber was appointed President of the
Deutsche Bundesbank by the German finance minister
Hans Eichel as successor of the resigning
Ernst Welteke ,
[6] and elected as a member of the
Governing Council of the European Central Bank in 2004.
[7]
In this capacity, Weber also served on the Board of Directors for the
Bank for International Settlements (BIS),
[1] as German governor of the
International Monetary Fund and a member of the
G7 and
G20 Ministers and Governors during this time. From 2010 to 2011 he was also a member of the Steering Committees of the
European Systemic Risk Board and the
Financial Stability Board .
On 9 February 2011, Weber announced his resignation from his chairmanship of the Bundesbank, effective 30 April 2011, a year before the expiry of his term of office.
[11] The move was seen as throwing open the candidacy for president of the
European Central Bank to others to succeed
Jean-Claude Trichet starting 1 November 2011.
[12]
University of Chicago
From 2011 to 2012 Weber was a visiting professor at the
University of Chicago Booth School of Business .
[13]
[14] As visiting professor, he taught two three-hour sessions of the course "Central Banking: Theories and Facts" on Mondays, in fall 2011.
[15] He attended the
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City 's Economic Policy Symposium in
Moran near
Jackson Hole, Wyoming , in summer 2011.
UBS AG
Weber was elected to the Board of Directors of the Swiss bank
UBS AG at the 2012 AGM held on 3 May 2012 and of UBS Group AG in November 2014. He succeeded
Kaspar Villiger as chairman of the Board of Directors.
[16] His appointment was announced in mid-2011, when Villiger had been expected to retire in 2013.
[2] Weber announced his resignation from
UBS AG on 6 April 2022.
Weber has chaired the Governance and Nominating Committee since 2012 and became Chairperson of the Corporate Culture and Responsibility Committee in 2013.
[5]
Other activities
Regulatory agencies
Corporate boards
Non-profit organizations
Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), Distinguished Fellow (since 2019)
[20]
Institute of International Finance (IIF), Chairman of the Board (since 2016)
[21]
[22]
German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), Chairman of the Board of Trustees (since 2015)
[23]
Berggruen Institute , Member of the Council for the Future of Europe (since 2011)
[24]
Swiss Finance Council, Member of the Board
Trilateral Commission , Member of the European Group
Swiss Bankers Association , Member of the Board
International Monetary Conference , Member of the Board
[5]
Financial Services Professional Board, Member of the Board
Group of Thirty , Member
Avenir Suisse , Member of the Board of Trustees
IMD Foundation, Member of the Board
[6]
European Financial Services Roundtable (EFR), Member
[25]
European Banking Group, Member
Monetary Authority of
Singapore , Member of the International Advisory Panel
University of Zurich , Member of the Advisory Board of the Department of Economics
[26]
Zukunft Finanzplatz, Member of the Advisory Board
[27]
Recognition
In late 2015, Weber was awarded the title of "European Banker of the Year 2014" in Germany by the International Association of Economic Journalists called the Group of 20+1.
[28] In the same year, Weber was also awarded the first Prix Marjolin Prize by the SUERF Council of Management.
[29]
Selected works
Weber, Axel A. (1988). Neue Klassische Makroökonomie, rationale Erwartungen und kontemporäre Information: Theoretische Analyse, ökonometrische Testprobleme und empirische Evidenz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland unter Verwendung des Kalman-Filters . Schriften zurangewandten Ökonometrie. Vol. Heft 20. Frankfurt am Main: Verlag Haag & Herrchen.
ISBN
3-89228-266-8 .
Weber, Axel A.; Agénor, Pierre-Richard; Miller, Marcus; Vines, David, eds. (1999). The Asian Financial Crisis: Causes, Contagion and Consequences . Cambridge University Press.
Weber, Axel A.; Artis, Michael, eds. (1999). The Euro: A Challenge and Opportunity for Financial Markets . Routledge.
Weber, Axel A. "Monetary Policy and Credibility: Theories and Facts". Mimeo .
References
^
a
b
c
"Current Member Biography. Axel A. Weber, Chairman, UBS" . Group of Thirty. Retrieved 26 July 2016 .
^
a
b Logutenkova, Elena (1 July 2011).
"Axel Weber To Succeed UBS Chairman Villiger In 2013 After Bundesbank Role" . Bloomberg. Retrieved 26 July 2016 .
^
a
b
"Axel Weber - Biografie WHO'S WHO" . www.whoswho.de . Retrieved 24 January 2017 .
^
a
b
"Prof. Dr. Axel Weber erhält die Ehrendoktorwürde der Universität Konstanz" . Universität Konstanz. Archived from
the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016 .
^
a
b
c
d
e
"UBS Group AG Corporate bodies. Axel A. Weber" . UBS. Retrieved 26 July 2016 .
^
a
b
c
"Executive Profile. Axel A. Weber Ph.D." Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved 26 July 2016 .
^
a
b
c
d
"Der Vorstand der Deutschen Bundesbank. Prof. Dr. rer. pol. Dr. h.c. Axel A. Weber" . Deutsche Bundesbank . Bundesbank.de. Archived from
the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2016 .
^
"Professor Dr. Axel A. Weber. Curriculum Vitae" . Goethe University Frankfurt. Retrieved 26 July 2016 .
^
"Curriculum Vitae von Professor Dr. Axel A. Weber" (PDF) . Goethe University Frankfurt. Retrieved 26 July 2016 .
^
"Mr Axel A. Weber,Chairman of the Board of Directors, UBS" . European Financial Services Round Table . efr.be. Retrieved 26 July 2016 .
^ Christian Vits, Simon Kennedy (11 February 2011).
"Weber To Leave Bundesbank In April, Throwing Race For ECB Chief Wide Open" . Bloomberg. Retrieved 26 July 2016 .
^ Jana Randow, Christian Vits, Jeff Black (9 February 2011).
"Weber Throws ECB Race Open by Ruling Out Second Bundesbank Term" . Bloomberg. Retrieved 26 July 2016 .
^
"CV Axel A. Weber" . global . Retrieved 24 January 2017 .
^
"Axel Weber, Bundesbank President, To Join Faculty at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business" . www.chicagobooth.edu . Retrieved 24 January 2017 .
^ Reddy, Sudeep (19 July 2011).
"Axel Weber's MBA Course 'Draws Heavily from Current Events' " . 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc . The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 26 July 2016 .
^
"Results Of The Annual General Meeting Of UBS AG" . HFT Review Limited 2011-2014 . The Trading Mesh. 3 May 2012. Archived from
the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016 .
^
a
b
Board of Directors: Axel A. Weber
UBS .
^
International Advisory Panel
Monetary Authority of Singapore .
^
International Panel
Temasek Holdings .
^
Distinguished Fellows
Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR).
^
IIF Board Elects Axel A. Weber as New Chairman
Institute of International Finance (IIF), press release of 6 October 2016.
^
"Board of Directors | The Institute of International Finance" . www.iif.com . Archived from
the original on 26 November 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2017 .
^ Berlin, DIW (1 March 2007).
"DIW Berlin: Board of Trustees" . www.diw.de (in German). Retrieved 25 January 2017 .
^
Council for the Future of Europe
Archived 4 May 2019 at the
Wayback Machine
Berggruen Institute .
^
2017 Annual Report European Financial Services Roundtable (EFR).
^
"Department of Economics - Advisory Board" . University of Zurich. Retrieved 26 July 2016 .
^
" "Finanzdepartement setzt "Beirat Zukunft Finanzplatz" ein" " . admin.ch. 27 March 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2016 .
^
" "Banker of the Year": Axel Weber in Frankfurt geehrt" . Handelsblatt. 16 November 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2016 .
^
"SUERF Marjolin Prize" . SUERF The European Money and Finance Forum . Retrieved 29 October 2019 .
External links
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