Caio Kai Koch-Weser (born July 25, 1944 in

Rolândia Rolândia is a municipality in the state of Paraná in the Southern Region of Brazil. Rolândia was settled by German immigrants who named it after (and erected a statue to) the medieval hero Roland, a symbol of freedom in Germany. See also *Li ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

) is a German economist, civil servant and business executive. He was Secretary of State in the Federal Ministry of Finance 1999–2005. Prior to becoming Secretary of State, he served in 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 ...

in a number of positions for 26 years, from 1991–1999 as Vice President and from 1996–1999 as Managing Director of Operations. He is now a Vice Chairman and senior adviser with

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York St ...

Early life

Koch-Weser was born and grew up in

, since his parents and grandparents had left Germany due to the rise of Nazism. He is the grandson of liberal politician and former German Federal Minister of Justice and

Vice Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...

Erich Koch-Weser, who had a Jewish mother. Caio Koch-Weser settled in West Germany in 1961, at 17, where he took his

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen ye ...

and went on to study economics, sociology and history in Münster, Berlin and Bonn.

Career in the World Bank

Koch-Weser joined the

in 1973. He served as Personal Assistant to the President of the Bank

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 ...

(1977–1980), Division Chief for China (1980–1986) and Director of Western Africa Department (1986–1990). In 1990 he was assigned to the Treasurer's Department, and in 1991 he became Vice President of Middle East and North Africa (MNA). He was appointed one of the Managing Directors of the World Bank in 1996. During his career in the World Bank, he mostly lived in

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

, but also worked in Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Secretary of State in the Ministry of Finance

In May 1999 he was appointed Secretary of State in the Federal Ministry of Finance, and as such the administrative head of the Ministry and deputy of the Federal Minister of Finance. Despite being appointed to a political position in the SPD government, he is not member of a political party. He was nominated by the German government for the post as head of the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...

(IMF) in 2000, but because he was rejected by 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., ...

, the German government eventually nominated

Horst Köhler Horst Köhler (; born 22 February 1943) is a German politician who served as President of Germany from 2004 to 2010. As the candidate of the two Christian Democratic sister parties, the CDU (of which he is a member) and the CSU, as well as the ...

, who was elected. Horst Köhler, one of Koch-Weser's predecessors as Secretary of State in the Ministry of Finance, would later become

President of Germany The president of Germany, officially the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: link=no, Bundespräsident der Bundesrepublik Deutschland),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international corres ...

After politics

After the 2005 elections and the formation of a new government under

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Opp ...

, Koch-Weser decided to leave his post at the Ministry of Finance, and was appointed to the board of

, as Vice Chairman, in January 2006. He is also active as an advisor for major customers of the bank on financial, economic and strategic developments, and represents the bank in key public forums worldwide. He has been based in London since 2006.

Corporate boards

BG Group BG Group plc was a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in Reading, United Kingdom. On 8 April 2015, Royal Dutch Shell announced that it had reached an agreement to acquire BG Group for $70 billion, subject to regulatory and ...

, Non-Executive Member of the Board of Director (2010-2016)

Non-profit organizations

* Blum Center for Developing Economies at the

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 ...

, Member of the Board of Trustees *

Chatham House Chatham House, also known as the Royal Institute of International Affairs, is an independent policy institute headquartered in London. Its stated mission is to provide commentary on world events and offer solutions to global challenges. It is ...

, Member of the Panel of Senior Advisers *

World Resources Institute The World Resources Institute (WRI) is a global research non-profit organization established in 1982 with funding from the MacArthur Foundation under the leadership of James Gustave Speth. WRI's activities are focused on seven areas: food, for ...

(WRI), Member of the Board * Global Commission on the Economy and Climate (NCE), Member of the Board *

Centre for European Reform The Centre for European Reform (CER) is a London-based think tank that focuses on matters of European integration. It is a prominent source of ideas and commentary in debates about a wide range of EU-related issues, both in the United Kingdom and i ...

(CER), Member of the Board * European Climate Foundation, Chair of the Board (2013-2018) *

Bertelsmann Stiftung The Bertelsmann Stiftung is an independent foundation under private law, based in Gütersloh, Germany. It was founded in 1977 by Reinhard Mohn as the result of social, corporate and fiscal considerations. As the Bertelsmann Stiftung itself ...

, Member of the Advisory Board (since 1998), Member of the Board of Trustees (until 2007) *

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...

, Member of the Board * Bruegel, Member of the Board

Personal life

He is married to Maritta Rogalla von Bieberstein, of the noble Rogalla von Bieberstein family. They have 3 children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koch-Weser, Caio Kai German politicians World Bank people 1944 births Living people Brazilian people of German descent People from Rolândia