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The Federal Council wants the former head of the National Bank, Philipp Hildebrand, to become the new Secretary General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). “Thanks to his many years of experience in senior positions both in the public and private sectors in Switzerland, but also internationally, Philipp Hildebrand is the ideal candidate,” the Federal Council announced on Wednesday.
The Federal Council is committed to actively supporting this Swiss candidacy in the nomination process, which will run until the end of February 2021.
Acting OECD Secretary General Angel Gurría announced in July that he would not be available for another term. The 70-year-old Mexican has led the organization since 2006.
Hildebrand affair
Hildebrand was Chairman of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) from 2010 to 2012. He resigned as a result of the so-called Hildebrand affair. He was charged with insider trading in foreign exchange after the bank records were made public. An employee of Bank Sarasin stole the documents and gave them to the lawyer and political vice president Hermann Lei. Lei, in turn, handed over the documents to then-SVP National Councilor Christoph Blocher. The matter was widespread. The prosecutor ultimately decided not to prosecute Hildebrand because the controversial dollar transactions did not violate the penalties for insider trading.
Today, Hildebrand is vice president of the world’s largest asset manager, Blackrock. “Blackrock values and supports Philipp Hildebrand’s commitment to Switzerland and his willingness to be available to his home country as a candidate for the post of Secretary General of the OECD,” said Tristan Hahn, Communications Manager for Blackrock Switzerland.
Switzerland member of the OECD since 1961
The OECD is an international organization with 37 member states. Its objective is to coordinate the economic, trade and development policies of its member states. The OECD advises governments and compiles economic statistics and guidelines. The organization was founded in 1961 and is based in Paris. Switzerland is one of the twenty member states that promoted the establishment of the organization from the beginning.
The predecessor organization to the OECD, the Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OEEF), coordinated the European reconstruction program in accordance with the Marshall Plan after World War II.
