Richard W. Fisher

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Richard W. Fisher
Richard W. Fisher

Richard W. Fisher, born 1949,[1] is currently the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, having assumed that post in April, 2005.

A first-generation American, Fisher was born in Los Angeles, California but grew up in Mexico. His father was Australian, while his mother was South African, of Norwegian descent.[2] He attended the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland from 1967 to 1969, before transferring to Harvard University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in economics in 1971. From 1972 to 1973, he studied Latin American studies at Oxford University. Completing his education in 1975, he earned an M.B.A. from Stanford University.

Moving to New York, Fisher joined Brown Brothers, Harriman and Company, a private banking firm, where he was assistant to former Undersecretary of the Treasury Robert V Roosa,[3] specializing in fixed income and foreign exchange markets. From 1978 to 1979, he served as Special Assistant to Secretary W. Michael Blumenthal at the United States Department of the Treasury, where he worked issues relating to the dollar crisis. Returning to Brown Brothers, he established and managed the bank's Dallas-based Texas operations.

Leaving Brown Brothers in 1987, Fisher created Fisher Capital Management, and a separate funds-management firm, Fisher Ewing Partners, managing both firms until 1997. In 1993, he was a candidate for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Lloyd Bentsen when the latter became U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, but took fifth place in a 21 candidate field behind State Treasurer Kay Bailey Hutchison, U.S. Senator Bob Krueger, U.S. Congressman Joe Barton, and U.S. Congressman Jack Fields.

The following year, he was a candidate for the same U.S. Senate seat in the regularly-scheduled election, defeating former Texas Attorney General Jim Mattox and U.S. Congressman Michael A. Andrews in the Democratic primary, before losing the general election to incumbent Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison, the winner of the 1993 special election.

From 1997 to 2001, Fisher served as Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, serving under U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky, where he was responsible for the implementation of NAFTA, and negotiating a variety of trade agreements, including the bilateral accords admitting both the People's Republic of China and Taiwan to the World Trade Organization. From 2001 to 2005, he served as Vice Chairman of Kissinger McLarty Associates, a strategic advisory firm headed by former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and former White House Chief of Staff Mack McLarty. He left the firm in April, 2005, when he was appointed as President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, succeeding Robert D. McTeer in that post.

Fisher is married to Nancy Miles Collins, the daughter of former U.S. Congressman James M. Collins. They have four children, including their son, actor Miles Fisher.

[edit] Award to John Howard

In early 2008 Mr.Fisher, in conjunction with Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, awarded former Prime Minister of Australia John Howard the Fisher Family Fellowship established by Mr & Mrs Fisher.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Richard W. Fisher (April 5th, 2006). A Perspective on Mexico. Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
  2. ^ Vivien Lou Chen (November 28th, 2005). Fisher, Fed's `Weakest Member,' Speaks Mind, Shaking Markets. Bloomberg Television.
  3. ^ Federal Reserve Press Release. Federal Reserve (December 21st, 2004).