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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.