International Board

Paul Volcker

Paul A. Volcker was Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from August 1979 to August 1987. Initially appointed to that position by President Carter for a four-year term, he was reappointed in 1983 by President Reagan.

Over the course of his career, Mr. Volcker worked in the Federal Government for almost 30 years, serving in office under five presidents—John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard M. Nixon, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan. Prior to his appointment as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Mr. Volcker spent more than four years as President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Mr. Volcker returned to private life in 1987 by joining the firm of James D. Wolfensohn & Co., Inc. as Chairman, until his retirement in 1996. He is currently serving as director of, or consultant to, a number of corporations and nonprofit organizations.



General Brent Scowcroft, Eric Melby and Henry Siegman

General Brent Scowcroft, Eric Melby and Henry Siegman

more events »

Can Kerry Rescue a Two-State Peace Accord?

If the purpose of President Barack Obama’s visit to Israel was to dispel the view held by most Israelis, and by rightwing American Jewish supporters of AIPAC and the Likud’s annexationist policies, that he is hostile to Israel and to the Zionist enterprise, it must be judged a brilliant success. Not everyone was converted, but his words and personal charm seemed to have worked wonders on most Israelis.
While his visit was not expected to revive prospects for a two-state solution, he spoke far more directly and energetically about the need for an end to Israel’s occupation and about his own continuing efforts to help the parties achieve an agreement than his recent disengagement from the peace process prepared anyone for. But nothing he said in Jerusalem or Ramallah–and, more importantly, that he failed to say–justifies an expectation that his reengagement will be of a kind that has any chance of preventing Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government from finally nailing down the coffin in which they are burying a viable two-state outcome.

read more »