Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1968 - 1987 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
5.81 linear feet of textual records
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Eugene H. Rotberg was the Treasurer of the World Bank Group from 1968 to 1987.
Born in Philadelphia in 1930, Rotberg earned a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1954. From 1957 to 1968, he was a lawyer for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), serving as Chief Counsel of the Office of Policy Research and later as Associate Director for Market Regulation.
In late 1968, Rotberg was hired as Treasurer by World Bank Group President Robert S. McNamara. To support the Bank's ambitious lending goals under McNamara's leadership, Rotberg led a major borrowing campaign from central banks, leading to a nearly fourfold increase in net borrowings during McNamara's first five-year term (1968-1973). The Bank diversified its borrowings, with large shares coming from Germany, Switzerland, Japan, and oil-exporting countries of the Middle East. In addition to raising money from central banks, Rotberg helped the Bank expand its capital through new markets and new financial products such as currency swaps. Swaps and other nontraditional financial instruments became especially critical for the Bank's funding during the 1980s.
Rotberg served as World Bank Group Treasurer from 1968 to 1977 and as Vice President and Treasurer (TREVP) from 1977 until he left the Bank in 1987. As Treasurer, Rotberg worked under the direction of the Vice President of Finance (VPF), a position held by Siem (Simon) Aldewereld, 1968-1974, and then by I.P.M. Cargill, 1974-1980. (Cargill was elevated to Senior Vice President in 1978.) Beginning in 1980, Rotberg reported to Moeen Qureshi, who replaced Cargill as Senior Vice President of the Finance Complex (SVPFI).
After McNamara's resignation, Rotberg continued to serve as World Bank Group Treasurer during the administration of President A.W. Clausen, 1981-1986, followed by President Barber Conable. As part of an administrative reorganization in 1987, Conable offered Rotberg a position to manage the Bank's response to the debt crisis, but Rotberg declined and chose to resign from the Bank.
After his career at the World Bank, Rotberg served as Executive Vice President of Merrill Lynch & Co.
Eugene Rotberg died on October 6, 2025.
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Donated to the World Bank Group Archives by Eugene H. Rotberg in 2004.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
This fonds consists of chronological files assembled by Rotberg during his career at the World Bank, 1968-1987. The predominant materials are photocopies of Rotberg's outgoing correspondence, memoranda, and facsimiles to Bank staff and to external parties. Some of the documents include annotations by Rotberg.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
Accruals are not expected.
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Records are subject to the World Bank Policy on Access to Information.
Conditions governing reproduction
Records are subject to the Copyright Policy of the World Bank Group.
Language of material
English
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
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Records of the Office of the Treasurer (WB IBRD/IDA TRE).
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See Records of the Office of the President (WB IBRD/IDA EXC), particularly Records of President Robert S. McNamara (WB IBRD/IDA EXC-10), Records of President A. W. Clausen (WB IBRD/IDA EXC-09), and Records of President Barber B. Conable (WB IBRD/IDA EXC-11).
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See the oral history of Eugene Rotberg conducted in 1990 for the Brookings World Bank History Project and the oral history of Rotberg conducted in 1994 by the World Bank Group's Office of the Historian.
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See Records of the Chief Financial Officer (WB IBRD/IDA CFO), particularly Finance Complex Central Files.
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Records of Individual Staff Members -- Moeen Qureshi files -- Subject files (WB IBRD/IDA STAFF-26).
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See Records of individual staff members -- Jessica P. Einhorn files (WB IBRD/IDA STAFF-35) for records related to the Financial Operations Department and the Office of the Vice President and Treasurer (TREVP), 1981-1996, including subject files and correspondence created by Rotberg.
Notes area
Note
70 Years Connecting Capital Markets to Development (World Bank, 2018), particularly chapters 3 and 4.
Alternative identifier(s)
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Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Internal World Bank Group Archives rules based on ISAD(G).
Disclosure Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
6 November 2024