Fernand Hautain (1858–1942) was a Belgian businessman and governor of the

National Bank of Belgium The National Bank of Belgium (NBB; , NBB; , BNB; , BNB) is the National central bank (Eurosystem), national central bank for Belgium within the Eurosystem. It was the Belgian central bank from 1850 until 1998, established by law of and issuin ...

(NBB) from 1923 until 1926.

Career

He started his career at an early age and combined working with evening classes and self-tuition. He started working for the NBB at the age of 19, as a bank clerk in the bank's branch in his hometown of

Nivelles Nivelles (; ; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. The Nivelles municipality includes the former municipalities of Baulers, Bornival, Thines, and Monstreux. The Nivelles arrondissement ...

and three years went on to work as a clerk at the Brussels head office. In 1901, Fernand Hautain was appointed an agent in

Philippeville Philippeville (; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, Belgium. The Philippeville municipality includes the former municipalities of Fagnolle, Franchimont, Jamagne, Jamiolle, Merlemont, Neuville, Om ...

and then in

La Louvière La Louvière (; ) is a city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, province of Hainaut, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Boussoit, Haine-Saint-Paul, Haine-Saint-Pie ...

, where in 1907 he became the manager of the discount office. As a businessman, he became commissioner for several industrial limited companies. When

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

broke out, he was appointed as a director of the Bank and after the war, in 1923, he succeeded

Leon Van der Rest Léon Van der Rest (1846–1932) was a Belgian lawyer, businessman and governor of the National Bank of Belgium (NBB) from 1918 until 1923. Career He started his career as a lawyer at the Brussels Bar, but after a few years took charge of the f ...

as governor of the NBB. During his term as governor, the Belgian government tried to deal with the postwar monetary crisis and to stabilise the

Belgian franc The Belgian franc was the currency of the Kingdom of Belgium from 1832 until 2002 when the euro was introduced. It was subdivided into 100 subunits, each known as a in Dutch, or in French and German. History The ''gulden'' (guilder) of 20 ''st ...

. In 1926,

Emile Francqui Emile or Émile may refer to: * Émile (novel) (1827), autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life * Emile, Canadian film made in 2003 by Carl Bessai * '' Emile: or, On Education'' (1762) by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a treatise o ...

, as minister Minister without Portfolio was the architect of the reform plan which would solve the monetary crisis. The bad relationship between Emile Francqui and Fernand Hautain would lead to the dismissal of Fernand Hautain from office. He was succeeded by Louis Franck. After his dismissal, Hautain returned to the business world, and he remained as deputy administrator of the

Société Nationale de Crédit à l'Industrie Groupe Lactalis S.A. (doing business as Lactalis) is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier S.A. Lactalis is the largest dairy pr ...

, which he had helped to establish in 1919.

Sources

* P. Kauch, ''Fernand Hautain, neuvième Gouverneur de la Banque Nationale de Belgique'' (1868–1942), Bruxelles, BNB, 1960
Fernand Hautain
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hautain, Fernand 1858 births 1942 deaths Belgian businesspeople Belgian civil servants Governors of the National Bank of Belgium