About

History of the Bretton Woods Committee

The Bretton Woods Committee was created in 1983 at the suggestion of two former Treasury officials - Secretary Henry Fowler and Deputy Secretary Charls Walker, a Democrat and a Republican. They saw the need for an organized effort to ensure that leading citizens spoke to Congress about the importance of funding the World Bank and IMF. In recent years, the Committee has also taken on the role of advisor to the multilateral institutions and actively works to enhance their effectiveness. This new mandate requires the active participation of opinion leaders from across the United States and around the world to ensure a global perspective.

Bretton Woods Committee Today

The Bretton Woods Committee is a nonpartisan group of distinguished citizens dedicated to increasing understanding of the World Bank, IMF, WTO and the regional development banks (the so-called Bretton Woods institutions) and their efforts to spur economic growth, alleviate poverty and improve financial stability.

The Committee's 700 members hail from across the United States and are drawn from the ranks of leaders in business, finance and civil society. The group believes that the United States must work to maintain its leadership role and cooperate closely with other governments through the Bretton Woods institutions.

The Committee organizes frequent conferences and seminars. Many of these are designed to reach a broad public audience. Recent programs have included:

• Exploration of China's relationship with the international financial institutions
• A look at Inter-American Development Bank President Moreno's development agenda for Latin America
• Assessment of companies "doing well and doing good" through implementation of the "bottom of the pyramid" business model in developing countries
• Examination of how development finance can be used to catalyze private investment in developing countries
• Outlining a proposed path for IMF reform
• Issuing a report card on the World Bank's private sector development efforts

The Committee's Annual Meeting held in Washington is a high profile event attracting cabinet-level speakers and leading experts to discuss the health of the international economy, issues surrounding economic development and the role of the multilateral institutions.

Two specific Committee working groups provide a more focused agenda for those with specific interests: the (1) International Council and the (2) Multilateral Roundtable.