William James Louden Ryan, MRIA (1923–2018), known as Louden Ryan, was an Irish economist and academic. He was Professor of Industrial Economics (1961–1967), Whately Professor of Political Economy (1967–1979) and Professor of Political Economy (1979–1985) at

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

. Among a number of public positions, he served as chairman of the

National Economic and Social Council The National Economic and Social Council (NESC) (Irish ''An Chomhairle Náisiúnta Eacnamaíoch Shóisialta'') is an independent body that advises the Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) on areas of policy relating to social and economic development. ...

from 1973 to 1978 and as Governor of the

Bank of Ireland Bank of Ireland Group plc () is a commercial bank operation in Ireland and one of the traditional Big Four Irish banks. Historically the premier banking organisation in Ireland, the bank occupies a unique position in Irish banking history. At ...

from 1985 to 1991. He has been credited with playing a key role in the transformation of Ireland's economy from one based on agriculture and protectionism to one dominated by industry, free trade and services.

Career

Early life, education and academia

Born in

Portadown Portadown ( ) is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is based on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

on 19 October 1923, he attended

, where he was appointed an assistant

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

after graduating in 1946. He completed a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

at Trinity (with a

thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

on "The nature and effects of protective policy in Ireland, 1922–1939") but moved to the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

in 1949, where he was a lecturer in economics until 1953. He then returned to Trinity to lecture in the Department of Economics under

George Alexander Duncan George Alexander Duncan (15 May 1902 – 14 January 2006), publishing as G. A. Duncan, was an Irish economist and academic, specialising in political economy and the Austrian school of economics. He was Professor of Political Economy at the Tri ...

, who was then Whately Chair of Political Economy."Louden Ryan obituary: A spearhead of Ireland's economic revival"
''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'', 8 December 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2019. A proponent of "eclectic

Keynesianism Keynesian economics ( ; sometimes Keynesianism, named after British economist John Maynard Keynes) are the various macroeconomics, macroeconomic theories and Economic model, models of how aggregate demand (total spending in the economy) strongl ...

", Ryan published ''Price Theory'' in 1958, and was promoted to a

personal chair Academic ranks in the United Kingdom are the titles, relative seniority and responsibility of employees in universities. In general the country has three academic career pathways: one focused on research, one on teaching, and one that combines ...

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of Industrial Economics in 1961, and then when Duncan retired in 1967 Ryan succeeded him as Whately Professor. In 1979, he stepped down from the chair and was appointed to another personal chair, as Professor of Political Economy. He left academia in 1985Ivor Kenny, ''In Good Company: Conversations with Irish Leaders'' (Gill and Macmillan, 1987), p. 136. and was elected a

Member of the Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the natural sciences, arts, literature, and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier learned society and one of its leading cultural and academic insti ...

in 1986. He received an

honorary An honorary position is one given as an honor, with no duties attached, and without payment. Other uses include: * Honorary Academy Award, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, United States * Honorary Aryan, a status in Nazi Germany ...

DSc DSC or Dsc may refer to: Education * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dyal Sin ...

degree from

Ulster University Ulster University (; Ulster Scots: or ), legally the University of Ulster, is a multi-campus public research university located in Northern Ireland. It is often referred to informally and unofficially as Ulster, or by the abbreviation UU. It i ...

in 1990.

Public service and banking

Ryan served as technical director of the Department of Finance's Economic Development Board from 1959 to 1961, and then served as its economic consultant until 1969; he was seconded from Trinity to work at the Department full-time from 1964 to 1966. During this time, he was involved in the implementation of

T. K. Whitaker Thomas Kenneth Whitaker (8 December 1916 – 9 January 2017) was an Irish economist, politician, diplomat and civil servant who served as Secretary (administrative head) of Ireland's Department of Finance from 1956 to 1969, as Governor of the ...

's '' First Programme for Economic Expansion'', an economic programme for transforming the Republic of Ireland's economy from one dominated by agriculture (and then mired in depression) and protectionism, to one based on industry, services and free trade. ''

'' noted in its obituary of Ryan that while "a significant amount of the credit for the transformation of the Irish economy... has been credited to the late T. K. Whitaker in reality the transformation also owed a great deal to Whitaker's friend and academic ally Louden Ryan, and it may be more accurate to describe the successful transformation as due to the partnership between

hem A hem in sewing is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the ga ...

. Ryan held various public offices thereafter, notably as chairman of the National Prices Commission from 1971 to 1975, chairman of the

from 1973 to 1978, and chairman of the

National Planning Board National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

between 1983 and 1984. Appointed a director of the

Central Bank of Ireland The Central Bank of Ireland () is the national central bank for Ireland within the Eurosystem. It was the Irish central bank from 1943 to 1998, issuing the Irish pound. It is also the country's main financial regulatory authority, and since 2 ...

in 1966, Ryan became increasingly interested in finances. After retiring from that bank in 1978, he moved to the

to sit on its board and in 1985, Ryan left academia to be its governor, serving until 1991."Louden Ryan: Portadown professor who helped transform Republic's economy"
''

The Irish News ''The Irish News'' is a Compact (newspaper), compact daily newspaper based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is Northern Ireland's largest-selling morning newspaper and is available throughout Ireland. It is broadly Irish nationalist in its viewp ...

'', 22 December 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2019. As governor, he attracted some criticism for his conservatism and lack of interest in credit expansion.

Later life

Ryan died on 19 November 2018; his wife Maudie predeceased him. He was survived by his daughter Jane McAfee, his son Jonathan Ryan, and his grandchildren Clare McAfee, James Ryan and Victoria Ryan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Louden 1923 births 2018 deaths 20th-century Irish economists Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Academics of Trinity College Dublin Academics of the London School of Economics Members of the Royal Irish Academy