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After graduating from high school in 1954, Duisenberg completed a degree in economics at the University of Groningen, specializing in international economic relations, which he completed with a diploma in 1961. Duisenberg then worked as a research assistant in his department, where he received his doctorate in 1965 with a dissertation on the "Economic Consequences of Disarmament". In 1965, Duisenberg was sent to Washington D.C. as an employee of the International Monetary Fund. appointed, where he worked until 1969.
He was then appointed advisor to the board of directors of the Dutch state bank "Nederlandse Bank". From 1970 to 1973, Duisenberg taught as a professor of economics at the University of Amsterdam. He then held the office of Dutch Minister of Finance until 1977. The financial politician had already joined the "Partij van de Arbeid" (PvdA, Socialist Party of the Netherlands) in 1959, for which he also sat as a member of parliament in 1977/78. In 1978, Duisenberg was appointed board member and vice president of Rabobank.
He held this office until 1981, when he was promoted to Executive Director of the Dutch Central Bank. In his role as head of the Dutch central bank, Duisenberg also gained recognition across Europe, which he increased through his participation in the further expansion of the European Economic and Monetary Union. From 1988 to 1990, Duisenberg also headed the Bank for International Settlements. From 1994 to 1997 he was the Dutch representative at the International Monetary Fund. As President of the European Monetary Institute, Duisenberg played a key role in the preparations for the introduction of the euro in 1997/98.
On June 1, 1998, he was elected as the first President of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt/Main against his French rival and central bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet, who, however, decided from the outset not to use up his eight-year term in office in the interests of France. In his new role, Duisenberg was under a lot of pressure as the top watchdog over the price stability of the European single currency. Especially after the common currency came into force as a means of payment on January 1, 2002, he had to repeatedly remind the member states to observe the convergence criteria.
The head of the central bank showed himself to be a consistent stability politician and a convinced supporter of the euro. Conversely, Duisenberg repeatedly came under public criticism due to the initial weakness of the euro. In February 2002, Duisenberg announced his early departure from office on his 68th birthday on July 9, 2003. In May of the same year he accepted the International Charlemagne Prize, which the city of Aachen had donated for the euro. Wim Duisenberg was named "Banker of the Year" (1996) and "Knight" of the French Legion of Honor (1998), among others. In the summer of 2002 he was honored with the Grand Cross of the Federal Order of Merit for his services to European integration.
Contrary to the previous announcement, in April 2003 EU finance ministers supported an extension of Duisenberg's term of office in order to enable the proper appointment of his French successor. The Dutch bank manager handed over the presidency of the European Central Bank to Jean-Claude Trichet on October 29, 2003. In his private life, Duisenberg was married to Gretta Nieuwenhuizen for the second time and was the father of three children.
Willem Frederik Duisenberg died on July 31, 2005 in Faucon, southern France. He drowned in his pool after a heart attack.
