Thibaut de Saint Phalle (July 23, 1918 – June 16, 2015) was an American investment banker, lawyer, and educator who served as a director of the

Export–Import Bank of the United States The Export–Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) is the official export credit agency (ECA) of the United States federal government. Operating as a wholly owned federal government corporation, the bank "assists in financing and facilitating ...

from 1977 to 1981.

Early life and education

de Saint Phalle was born July 23, 1918, in

Tuxedo Park, New York Tuxedo Park is a village in Orange County, New York, United States. Its population was 645 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Kiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie–Newburgh metropolitan area as well as the larger New York metropolitan area. Its name ...

. He was born to a French father, Fal de Saint Phalle and American Marie G. Duryee. His paternal grandfather was Count Pierre de Saint Phalle of

Nevers Nevers ( , ; , later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is a city and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Nièvre Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in central France. It was the pr ...

, France. Through his father, he is a cousin of

Niki de Saint Phalle Niki de Saint Phalle (; born Catherine Marie-Agnès Fal de Saint Phalle; 29 October 193021 May 2002) was a French sculptor, painter, filmmaker, and author of colorful hand-illustrated books. Widely noted as one of the few female monumental sculp ...

. His maternal grandmother was Emma Guidet Duryee Auchincloss, who divorced Samuel Sloan Auchicloss, a grandson of Samuel Sloan. He attended

Pomfret School Pomfret School is an independent, coeducational, college preparatory boarding and day school in Pomfret, Connecticut, United States, serving 350 students in grades 9 through 12 and post-graduates. Founded in 1894, it is located in the Pomfret St ...

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

, and received an A.B. from Columbia College in 1939 and a LL.B. from

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...

in 1941.

Biography

de Saint Phalle served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

and

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the first intelligence agency of the United States, formed during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines ...

from 1942 to 1946. He was awarded the Naval Commendation Medal and the

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

for his service. He was named

Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was o ...

by the government of France in January 1996. From 1941 to 1950, he was an associate attorney at Chadbourne, Wallace, Parke & Whiteside. From 1950 to 1954, he served as consultant to the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

and negotiated the Military Aid Treaty between the United States and France to combat insurgency in

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China), officially known as the Indochinese Union and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation, was a group of French dependent territories in Southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954. It was initial ...

on behalf of the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

. From 1950 to 1958, he was a partner and head of corporate law practice at Lewis and MacDonald. From 1958 to 1967, he was a director of Becton, Dickinson and Company, where he served as the company's chief financial officer and was in charge of its overseas operations. He was also general counsel of the company, in charge of all legal matters. Between 1962 and 1966, he was a senior partner at

Coudert Brothers Coudert Brothers LLP was a New York–based law firm with that practiced from 1853 until its dissolution in 2006. History The firm was established in 1853 in New York by three sons of Charles Coudert Sr.: Frederic René Coudert Sr., Charles Co ...

. From 1965 and 1970, he was also an investment banker, serving as vice chairman of Stralem, Saint Phalle & Co. and limited partner and president of Witter Overseas Finance Corp. From 1971 to 1976, de Saint Phalle was a faculty member at the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public university, public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by French theologian John Calvin as a Theology, theological seminary. It rema ...

teaching international law and finance. He was a visiting faculty member in 1976 and 1977. He was also a lecturer at

Fairleigh Dickinson University Fairleigh Dickinson University () is a private university with its main campuses in New Jersey, located in Madison / Florham Park and in Teaneck / Hackensack. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University offers more than 100 degree prog ...

. On November 7, 1977, he was nominated by President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

to serve on the board of directors of the

and his nomination was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on December 14. He served in that position from December 21, 1977, to June 15, 1981. de Saint Phalle held the Scholl Chair in International Business of

Center for Strategic and International Studies The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. From its founding in 1962 until 1987, it was an affiliate of Georgetown University, initially named the Center for Strategic and Inte ...

from 1981 to 1983. He was also a director of the

Atlantic Council The Atlantic Council is an American think tank in the field of international affairs, favoring Atlanticism, founded in 1961. It manages sixteen regional centers and functional programs related to international security and global economic prosp ...

Personal life

In 1945, de Saint Phalle married Rosamond Frame, daughter of Murray Scott Frame and Alice Seymore Brown Frame, who were American missionaries in China. His mother-in-law, Alice S. Brown Frame was the dean of the women's college of

Yenching University Yenching University () was a Private university, private research university in Beijing, China, from 1919 to 1952. The university was formed out of the merger of four Christian colleges between the years 1915 and 1920. The term "Yenching" come ...

. He died on June 16, 2015, at

Naples, Florida Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 19,115, down from 19,539 at the 2010 census. Naples is a principal city of the Collier County, Florida, Naples–Marc ...

, aged 96. He is survived by his third wife, Mariana de Saint Phalle, his 9 children and step-children, and 19 grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:De Saint Phalle, Thibaut 1918 births 2015 deaths Carter administration personnel Pomfret School alumni Harvard College alumni Columbia College (New York) alumni Columbia Law School alumni People of the Central Intelligence Agency CSIS people 20th-century American businesspeople Academic staff of the University of Geneva Fairleigh Dickinson University faculty American bankers United States Department of State officials American people of French descent French untitled nobility People from Tuxedo, New York