William Henry Clegg (born 1867 - died 1945) was the first Governor of the

South African Reserve Bank The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) is the central bank of South Africa. It was established in 1921 after Parliament passed an act, the "Currency and Bank Act of 10 August 1920", as a direct result of the abnormal monetary and financial condi ...

from 17 December 1920 until 31 December 1931. His successor was

Johannes Postmus Johannes Postmus (1877 – 1947) was the second Governor of the South African Reserve Bank. His term of office was from 1 January 1932 until 30 June 1945. He was succeeded by Michiel Hendrik de Kock Michiel Hendrik de Kock (29 January 1898, ...

Early life

He was born in 1867 in

Stanley, West Yorkshire Stanley is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. It is about north-east of Wakefield city centre. Stanley was an Urban District in the West Riding of Yorkshire before 1974, being made up the four elect ...

to father George Clegg.

Career

His banking career started in September 1886 when he joined the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...

. By 1895 he was an assistant to the

auditor An auditor is a person or a firm appointed by a company to execute an audit.Practical Auditing, Kul Narsingh Shrestha, 2012, Nabin Prakashan, Nepal To act as an auditor, a person should be certified by the regulatory authority of accounting an ...

before becoming a first auditor in 1900. In 1914, he was the principal of the branch banks office and by 1919, the banks chief accountant. In 1920, he was selected as the first governor of the South African Reserve Bank a positioned he served until 1931. After then end of his tenure at the South African Reserve Bank, he was appointed as the chairman of the commission of inquiry into the

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

currency. In 1932, he returned to the Bank of England as a director.

Marriage

In 1916, he married Elinor Bowen and had two sons and a daughter.

Death

He died on 16 March 1945 at Stillwood House in

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

, England.

References

1867 births 1945 deaths Governors of the South African Reserve Bank British expatriates in British Hong Kong British expatriates in South Africa {{SouthAfrica-business-bio-stub