Emmett J. Rice

Emmett J. Rice was an American economist and central banker who served as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from 1979 to 1986. A specialist in international finance and monetary policy, he was one of the first African Americans appointed to the nation's most powerful financial institution. His career spanned academia, international development, and high-level government service, influencing economic policy during a period of significant inflation and financial deregulation.

Early life and education

Emmett John Rice was born in Florence, South Carolina, and moved to Harlem in New York City as a child. He excelled academically, earning a Bachelor of Science degree from the City College of New York in 1941. His studies were interrupted by service in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II, where he served as a Tuskegee Airman and reached the rank of captain. Following the war, he pursued graduate studies in economics, receiving his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1954 under the guidance of prominent economists.

Career

Before his appointment to the Federal Reserve, Rice built a distinguished career in economic analysis and international development. He worked for the U.S. Treasury Department and served as an economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. His expertise led him to the Agency for International Development and a significant role as a senior advisor to the National Bank of Rwanda, assisting in the establishment of its central bank. He also held academic positions, including a professorship at Cornell University, and authored the influential book "**The Banking Structure of the State of New York**." His government service included positions at the Export-Import Bank of the United States and the White House Office of Management and Budget.

Federal Reserve service

Nominated by President Jimmy Carter and confirmed by the United States Senate, Rice began his term on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in June 1979. His tenure coincided with the chairmanships of Paul Volcker and Alan Greenspan and was marked by the Volcker shock, a period of aggressively tight monetary policy to combat stagflation. As a Governor, he served on key committees overseeing Federal Open Market Committee operations, bank regulation, and consumer affairs. He was a proponent of the Monetary Control Act of 1980 and engaged in international policy discussions with institutions like the Bank for International Settlements and the International Monetary Fund. Rice completed his term in December 1986.

Later life and legacy

After leaving the Federal Reserve, Rice returned to California, where he served on the board of directors for the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. He remained active in civic and educational affairs, contributing to organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the United Negro College Fund. His daughter, Susan Rice, became the United States National Security Advisor and United States Ambassador to the United Nations. Emmett J. Rice died in Oakland, California in October 2011. He is remembered as a trailblazer who broke racial barriers in central banking and contributed to the formulation of U.S. monetary policy during a critical economic era.

Category:1919 births Category:2011 deaths Category:American economists Category:Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System members Category:Tuskegee Airmen