Items25The creator’s order
  1. 1Alexander HamiltonAlexander HamiltonBorn 11 Jan 1755Public credit was an institution to build, not just a debt to repay, for the first US Treasury secretary. His programme linked federal borrowing, the assumption of state debts and a national bank, which opened in 1791. Hamilton is a starting point for understanding how a finance ministry can…0i
  2. 2Jean-Baptiste ColbertJean-Baptiste ColbertBorn 29 Aug 1619Louis XIV's finance minister promoted royal manufactures, protected production and brought commerce into a programme of state power. Colbert offers a very different model from modern market liberalisation: government privileges and protection were instruments for developing selected industries.…0i
  3. 3Sergei WitteSergei WitteBorn 29 Jun 1849Railways, foreign investment and the gold standard formed a connected strategy under Russia's finance minister in the 1890s. The 1897 currency reform helped make Russian borrowing more attractive abroad, while railway demand supported heavy industry. Witte is useful for studying state-led…0i
  4. 4David Lloyd GeorgeDavid Lloyd GeorgeBorn 17 Jan 1863The 1909 People's Budget made the distribution of taxation central to Britain's expanding public commitments. As chancellor, Lloyd George proposed taxes on higher incomes and land alongside other duties to fund spending that included pensions and the navy. It is a revealing case of redistribution…0i
  5. 5Gordon BrownGordon BrownBorn 20 Feb 1951Brown's decision in May 1997 to give the Bank of England operational control over interest rates changed who made a central economic decision. The government retained responsibility for the inflation target; independence did not remove political choices from the system. Compare him with ministers…0i
  6. 6Nigel LawsonNigel LawsonBorn 11 Mar 1932Britain's 1988 Budget reduced the basic income-tax rate to 25 per cent and replaced higher rates above 40 per cent with a single higher rate. Lawson presented lower rates and a simpler structure as incentives to enterprise. The reform makes the distributional question visible: reducing the top rate…0i
  7. 7Leszek BalcerowiczLeszek BalcerowiczBorn 19 Jan 1947Poland's transition programme took effect in 1990, combining price and trade liberalisation with fiscal and monetary restraint. Balcerowicz, finance minister and deputy prime minister, helped drive the rapid move away from central planning. The subsequent output and employment falls were larger…0i
  8. 8Alexei KudrinAlexei KudrinBorn 12 Oct 1960Russia's oil windfall posed a choice between spending immediately and building a buffer. Kudrin pressed for a stabilisation fund that would save exceptional revenues and reduce vulnerability to lower energy prices. His approach shows how restraint during a boom can change the options available in a…0i
  9. 9Manmohan SinghManmohan SinghBorn 26 Sept 1932As finance minister during India's 1991 balance-of-payments crisis, Singh helped turn an emergency into a wider liberalisation programme under Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao. Budget measures accompanied changes to licensing, trade and foreign investment across government. The earlier reforms of…0i
  10. 10Fernando Henrique CardosoFernando Henrique CardosoBorn 18 Jun 1931Before becoming president, Cardoso assembled political support and an economic team for Brazil's Real Plan as finance minister under Itamar Franco. Its staged approach to monetary stabilisation brought a sharp reduction in inflation after repeated failed plans. The new currency arrived in July…0i