Rudolph Arvid Peterson (December 6, 1904 – December 2, 2003) was an American banker who served as the President and CEO of

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

and Administrator of the

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...

Background

Peterson was born into a family of six children in

Svenljunga Svenljunga is a locality and the seat of Svenljunga Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It ...

, Västra Götaland,

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. He was adopted by his maternal uncle and aunt who emigrated in September 1905. At first they lived in

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In 1907 they joined a trainload of young Swedish families set out for California. They settled down in Los Angeles. In 1913 the family moved to Hilmar in

Merced County Merced County ( ) is a county located in the northern San Joaquin Valley section of the Central Valley, in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 281,202. The county seat is Merced. The county is named after ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, a Swedish immigrant farming colony outside

Turlock, California Turlock is a city in Stanislaus County, California, United States. Its population was 72,740 at the 2020 United States census, making it the second-largest city in Stanislaus County after Modesto. History Founded on December 22, 1871, by pr ...

. He graduated from the Hilmar High School and the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, (B.S. 1925).

Career

During his career, he worked at Commercial Credit Corporation, the

Transamerica Corporation Transamerica Corporation is an American holding company for various life insurance companies and investment firms operating primarily in the United States, offering life and supplemental health insurance, investments, and retirement services. The ...

and the

Bank of Hawaii The Bank of Hawaii Corporation (; abbreviated BOH) is an American regional commercial bank headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii. It is Hawaii's second oldest bank and its largest locally owned bank in that the majority of the voting stockholders re ...

. He joined Bank of America in 1936 and spent two decades in California before leaving for six years with the Bank of Hawaii. He was president of the Bank of Hawaii when he returned to Bank of America in 1961 as vice chairman. Bank of America named him president and chief executive in 1963. He retired at the end of 1969 and was succeeded by

Alden W. Clausen Alden Winship "Tom" Clausen
...

. In 1972, Peterson became the second Administrator of the

, managing that body's economic assistance activities throughout the world. Rudolph A. Peterson was the University of California, Berkeley 1967 Alumnus of the Year and received the Chancellor's Award in 1991. In 1965, Peterson was selected to be

Swedish-American Swedish Americans () are Americans of Swedish descent. The history of Swedish Americans dates back to the early colonial times, with notable migration waves occurring in the 19th and early 20th centuries and approximately 1.2 million arrivi ...

of the Year by the Swedish Council of America. He later served as chairman of the Board of Directors of the council from 1989 to 1991.

References

External links

Peterson Museum - Nemea Center for Classical Archaeology
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, Rudolph A Administrators of the United Nations Development Programme 1904 births 2003 deaths People from Svenljunga Municipality Swedish emigrants to the United States University of California, Berkeley alumni American bankers American chief executives of financial services companies American officials of the United Nations