Alden Winship "Tom" Clausen
World Bank, Accessed November 27, 2010. (February 17, 1923 – January 21, 2013) was

President of the World Bank President most commonly refers to: * President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

from 1981 to 1986. He was also president and CEO of

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank ...

in 1970 and again in 1986.

Education

Clausen was born in

Hamilton, Illinois Hamilton is a city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,951 at the 2010 census, a decline from 3,029 in 2000. The city is located directly across the Mississippi River from Keokuk, Iowa. Hamilton is the largest city in ...

to a family of

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

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 Carthage College is a private college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and located in Kenosha, Wisconsin. It enrolls 2,600 full-time and 200 part-time students. Carthage awards bachelor's degrees with majors in more tha ...

in 1944 with a BA (and was awarded an honorary

LLD Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

in 1970), from the

University of Minnesota Law School The University of Minnesota Law School is the law school of the University of Minnesota, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school confers four law degrees: a Juris Doctor (J.D.), a Master of Laws (LL.M.), a Master of Science in Patent L ...

in 1949 with a LLB, and attended the

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

'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

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. 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 A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

in 1970.

World Bank

In 1981 Clausen was appointed president of the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

. He was replaced 5 years later by

Barber Conable Barber Benjamin Conable Jr. (November 2, 1922 – November 30, 2003) was a U.S. Congressman from New York and former President of the World Bank Group. Biography Conable was born in Warsaw, New York on November 2, 1922. Conable was an Eagle Scou ...

. His term as

president saw the massive scaling up of structural adjustment lending that had been introduced under his predecessor

Robert McNamara Robert Strange McNamara (; June 9, 1916 – July 6, 2009) was an American business executive and the eighth United States Secretary of Defense, serving from 1961 to 1968 under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. He remains the ...

Return to Bank of America

Clausen returned to Bank of America as chairman and

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 A commercial bank is a financial institution which accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make profit. It can also refer to a bank, or a division of a large bank, which deals with ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. Clausen was also a member of the Advisor Council of

SRI International SRI International (SRI) is an American nonprofit scientific research institute and organization headquartered in Menlo Park, California. The trustees of Stanford University established SRI in 1946 as a center of innovation to support economic ...

and was on the board of governors of

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public, prior to 2016. United Way organizations raise funds ...

Legacy

*In 1980, Clausen received the Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet ...

presented by Awards Council member Stephen Bechtel Sr. *A.W. Clausen Center for World Business at

Kenosha, Wisconsin Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenos ...

, is named in his honor. *Clausen Center for International Business and Policy at the

Haas School of Business The Walter A. Haas School of Business, also known as Berkeley Haas, is the business school of the University of California, Berkeley, a public research university in Berkeley, California. It was the first business school at a public universit ...

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...

was endowed by a gift from Peggy and Tom Clausen in 1995.

References

world Bank project water supply scheme Mattershem group (HISAR HARYANA INDIA) Inaugurated by Mr. A.W.CLAUSEN (PRESIDENT WORLD BANK) ON 20TH.JANUARY 1982

External links

Official World Bank Biography of Alden Winship Clausen
* 1923 births 2013 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople American chief executives of financial services companies American people of Norwegian descent California lawyers Carthage College alumni People from Hamilton, Illinois Presidents of the World Bank Group University of Minnesota Law School alumni 20th-century American lawyers {{US-business-bio-1920s-stub