Seymour Parker Gilbert (October 13, 1892 - February 23, 1938) was an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

, banker, politician and

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

. He is chiefly known for being Agent General for Reparations to Germany, from October 1924 to May 1930. Afterwards, in 1931, he became an associate at J. P. Morgan.

Early life

Parker Gilbert was the son of Seymour Parker and Carrie Jennings ( Cooper) Gilbert. Gilbert was educated at Rutgers College, graduating at the age of 19, and received a L.L.B. from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

at 22, where he was the editor of the

Harvard Law Review The ''Harvard Law Review'' is a law review published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the ''Harvard Law Review''s 2015 impact factor of 4.979 placed the journal first out of 143 ...

from 1913-1915, and later an honorary degree in 1930 for his work in reparations.

Career

From 1915-1918, he practiced law with Cravath and Henderson in New York. At age 27, he was offered a cabinet post in the Wilson Administration, as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, and continued to serve in the Harding Administration. In 1924, he was appointed Agent General for Reparations by the Allied

Reparation Commission The Reparation Commission, also Inter-Allied Reparation Commission (sometimes "Reparations Commission"), was established by the Treaty of Versailles to determine the level of World War I reparations which Germany should pay the victorious Allie ...

, succeeding the temporary Owen D. Young. In that capacity, he was responsible for the execution of the Dawes Plan. Under the Young Plan, the Bank for International Settlements was created, nullifying the position of Parker Gilbert. Gilbert served as Under Secretary of the Treasury from June 1921 – 1923 as well as Agent General of Reparations from October 1924 until May 1930, working with Weimar Germany to ensure loan repayments to America. Afterwards, in 1931, he became an associate at J. P. Morgan, where he was known to put in long hours at the firm.

Personal life

He died at age 45, from a heart attack. His son

S. Parker Gilbert Seymour Parker Gilbert III (November 15, 1933 – May 27, 2015) was Chairman of Board and President of Morgan Stanley from 1983 until 1990. Career While Gilbert was the Chairman of Board and President of Morgan Stanley from 1983 until 1990, the ...

, born 1934, was chairman of Morgan Stanley during the 1980s. After his death, his wife, Louise Todd, married Harold Stanley, the co-founder of Morgan Stanley.

References

The papers of S. Parker Gilbert

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker Gilbert, Seymour 1892 births 1938 deaths Rutgers University alumni Harvard Law School alumni 20th-century American lawyers American bankers American diplomats United States Department of the Treasury officials Cravath, Swaine & Moore people