28 Facts About Otto Niemeyer

Sir Otto Ernst Niemeyer was a British banker and civil servant.

Otto Niemeyer served as a director of the Bank of England from 1938 to 1952 and a director of the Bank for International Settlements from 1931 to 1965.

An Oxford graduate, Niemeyer began working for HM Treasury in 1906 and rose rapidly through the ranks, finishing his time there as controller of finance.

Otto Niemeyer was recruited to the Bank of England by Montagu Norman, and represented the bank at the League of Nations and on a number of missions overseas.

Otto Niemeyer's visit to Australia in 1930 contributed to a political crisis that resulted in the Australian Labor Party split of 1931 and the collapse of James Scullin's government.

Otto Niemeyer attended St Paul's School, London before going on to Balliol College, Oxford.

Otto Niemeyer married a distant cousin, Sophie Niemeyer, in 1910, and they had four children together.

Otto Niemeyer retired to Lindfield, Sussex, dying there in 1971 at the age of 87.

Otto Niemeyer rose rapidly through the ranks, becoming deputy controller of finance in 1920 and controller of finance in 1922, succeeding Basil Blackett.

Otto Niemeyer held that position until 1927, serving as the chief adviser to the Chancellor of the Exchequer on financial matters.

Otto Niemeyer took Blackett's place on the financial committee of the League of Nations.

Otto Niemeyer's advice was instrumental in the introduction of the British Gold Standard Act 1925, which saw the country return to the gold standard.

Otto Niemeyer left the Treasury at the age of 44, feeling he could advance no further within the department.

Otto Niemeyer was recruited to the Bank of England in 1927 by Montagu Norman, as an adviser to the governor.

Otto Niemeyer represented the bank on the financial committee of the League of Nations until 1937 and on the Corporation of Foreign Bondholders from 1935 to 1965, including as vice-president from 1950 to 1955 and president from 1955 to 1965.

In November 1938 had, after discussions with the President of the German Reichsbank, Hjalmar Schacht, Otto Niemeyer put forward a proposal linking Jewish emigration from Germany which would enable Jews to transfer their government bonds to foreign countries.

Otto Niemeyer was elected an executive director of the bank in 1938, alongside Cameron Cobbold, and was briefly mooted as successor to Norman in 1944; his candidacy was vetoed by Winston Churchill.

Otto Niemeyer often filled a sort of diplomatic role for the bank, touring a number of different countries in order to provide advice to foreign governments and check up on the bank's debtors.

Otto Niemeyer came by arrangement with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and agreement by Prime Minister James Scullin, who hoped to use Niemeyer's advice as an affirmation of his government's financial policy.

Otto Niemeyer left London yesterday accompanied by an economist and an officer of the Bank of England.

The high point of Otto Niemeyer's tour was his address at the Melbourne Conference of Commonwealth and State leaders, where he said that the 'cold facts must be faced'.

Otto Niemeyer warned Australia had two years 'to get its house in order' before a tranche of external debt matured in 1932.

Otto Niemeyer believed Australians were too optimistic about the country's prospects.

Otto Niemeyer was seen as promoting the interests of wealthy overseas bankers at the expense of the Australian people, who were struggling to cope with the Great Depression.

Outside the Bank of England, Otto Niemeyer was a director of the Bank of International Settlements from 1931 to 1965, at the same time as Walther Funk, serving as chairman from 1937 to 1940 and vice-chairman from 1940 to 1946.

Otto Niemeyer helped set up the National Association for Mental Health, serving as provisional chairman from 1943 to 1946.

Otto Niemeyer was a governor of St Paul's School, Marlborough College, and the London School of Economics, serving as chairman of LSE from 1941 to 1957.

Otto Niemeyer was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1921, Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1924, and Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire in 1927.