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W H Clegg
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17 December 1920 to 31 December 1931
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Appointed as first Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, he initially found a general lack of knowledge on the nature and functions of a central bank. In addition there were shortcomings in the Reserve Bank Act, which hampered the work of the Bank. His first years were largely devoted to improving and rectifying this situation.
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Clegg served two full terms of five years, plus an additonal year in order to oversee the building of the Reserve Bank's new Head Office. Britain's decision in September 1931 to abandon the gold standard led to one of the most traumatic periods in the Bank's history, due to the subsequent total loss of the Bank's reserves which had been built up carefully over its first ten years. During his Governorship, Germany experienced hyper inflation and all countries post first World War economic difficulties.
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J Postmus
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1 January 1932 to 30 June 1945 |
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Appointed as second Governor of the South African Reserve Bank. He had already proved to be a leader in South African banking at an early stage in his career, and was one of the Reserve Bank's first Directors in 1921 as one of three representatives of the commercial banks.
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Part of his term of office coincided with a turbulant period in South Africa's economic history, including the question surrounding the return to the gold standard and its eventual abandonment. During the middle part of his Governorship, world events led to the Second World War which lasted until his retirement in 1945.
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M H de Kock
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1 July 1945 to 30 June 1962 |
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| Appointed as thrid Governor of the South African Reserve Bank and served for a total period of 39 years. He exerted a major influence on economic thought in South Africa and even overseas. Various innovations were initiated by him, including the creation of a department with the specific task of gathering and processing statistics and undertaking economic research. |
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| The years subsequent to the Second World War were characterised at times by large deficits on South Africa's balance of payments. There was also uncertainty about gold's future and its role in the international monetary system. He followed a policy of stable economic growth. During his Governorship in the early sixties, the financial climate was seriously disturbed by political events. In addition South Africa's monetary system changed from sterling to rand when South Africa became a Republic in 1961 prior to his retirement in 1962. |
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G Rissik
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1 July 1962 to 30 June 1967 |
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| Appointed as fourth Governor of the South African Reserve Bank. He started at the Bank shortly after its inception and in 1958 was appointed Chairman of the newly created South African Banknote Company. |
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| During his Governorship South Africa started printing its own banknotes locally at the South African Banknote Company. He was also instrumental in extending the Bank's coin collection through his interest in numismatics. Political events played a role in the financial climate during this period. America's involvement in Vietnam escalated in the late sixties. |
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T W de Jongh
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1 July 1967 to 31 December 1980 |
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| Appointed as fifth Governor of the South African Reserve Bank. During his term he faced various international monetary crises. Considerable uncertainty regarding gold marketing was caused by the introduction of the two-tier gold marketing system in 1968. Under his leadership the Gold Agreement was concluded with the International Monetary Fund which gave the Reserve Bank more scope for marketing the country's gold. |
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| Gold swap transactions were concluded with foreign institutions in the nineteen seventies to reinforce South Africa's reserves. Careful formulation of monetary policy was required due to the rising inflation rate, excessive credit extension by the banking sector and balance of payment problems. He was also involved in various international policy matters. During this period the gold price became much more volatile, fluctuating from initially $30 per ounce to in excess of $200. |
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G P C de Kock
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1 January 1981 to 7 August 1989 |
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| Appointed as sixth Governor of the South African Reserve Bank. His father was M H de Kock, the third Governor of the Reserve Bank. He was an active writer and wrote amongst others "A History of the South African Reserve Bank, 1920 - 1952". In the late seventies and early eighties he served as Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry into the Monetary System and Monetary Policy in South Africa - this commission eventually became known as the De Kock Commission. |
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| During his term the gold price was exytremely volatile, having dropped from a high of over $800 to under $300 an ounce with various monetary policy implications. The Rand weakened against world currencies. Political decisions had a major impact on financial markets in the mid eighties resulting in the introduction of the financial rand system. |
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C L Stals
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8 August 1989 to 7 August 1999 |
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| Appointed as seventh Governor of the South African Reserve Bank. Leading to this appointment, his service in various executive positions in the Bank led to his involvement in almost all major events in the South African economy over the past quarter century. He was involved in the gold swap arrangements, the debt standstill agreements and negotiations leading to the establishment of the Rand Monetary Area. |
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| During this period South Africa also changed from a sales tax to a value added system. In the early nineties all political detainees were released, leading to Nelson Mandela being elected South Africa's first black President after elections on 27 April 1994. The financial rand system was abolished the following year. |
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T T Mboweni
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8 August 1999 to date |
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| Appointed as eighth Governor of the South African Reserve Bank. Obtained his degree in Economics and Political Science in 1985 and his Masters degree in Development Economics in 1987. Minister of Labour from 1994 to 1998. Joined the Reserve Bank in July 1998 as Advisor to the Governor until his appointment. |
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| Introduced a Monetary Policy Committee responsible for setting the repo rate which influences interest rates. Net open forward position virtually eliminated during his governorship, and inflation targeting framework is adopted. Thabo Mbeki is elected as President during second elections. Gold price improves back to $300 / $325 range and Rand experiences same volatility. The Reserve Bank also assumed a leading role during the Y2K millennium computer changeover. |
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