Jean-Pierre Roth served as chairman of the Swiss National Bank from 1 March 2006 until 31 December 2009.
He joined the Swiss National Bank in 1979, working in Zürich and Bern. He became vice-chairman of the governing board in 1996. In 2001, he became chairman of the governing board.
He succeeded Nout Wellink, who served as Chairman of the Board and President of the Bank since March 2002. He was replaced by Philipp Hildebrand on January 1, 2010.
Jean-Pierre Roth joined the Swiss National Bank in 1979 and worked in various sectors of the Bank in Zurich and Berne.
On 1 May 1996, the Federal Government appointed him Vice-Chairman of the Governing Board and head of Department II in Berne (capital market, banknotes, business relations with the Confederation, administration of gold holdings).
On 1 January 2001 he was appointed Chairman of the Governing Board and head of Department I in Zurich (economics, international affairs, legal and administrative).
Between 2001-2009 he was Governor of the Washington-based International Monetary Fund (IMF) for Switzerland and chairman of the board of directors of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in Basel.
Background:
Jean-Pierre Roth, born in 1946, completed his doctorate in economics at the Institut Universitaire de Hautes Etudes Internationales (Graduate Institute of International Studies), Geneva.
Following postdoctoral studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US, he held lectureships at the University of Geneva and at the Institut Universitaire de Hautes Etudes Internationales.