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Biography
McFadyean was born in 1887 and educated at University College School, London, and University College, Oxford University. In 1910 he entered the Treasury by open competition where he served as Private Secretary to six successive Financial Secretaries including John Maynard Keynes (1917-1919). In 1917 he accompanied Sir H Lever to the USA on a special financial mission and was Treasury representative at the Paris Peace Conference, 1919-1920. Between 1920 and 1922 he served as Secretary to the British Delegation of the Allied Reparations Commission which had been set up after the First World War to establish the extent of Germany's obligations. From 1922-1924 he was General Secretary to the Allied Reparations Commission and then Secretary to the Dawes Committee in 1924. After the final report (which came to be known as the Dawes Plan) was published in 1924, he was appointed Commissioner of Controlled Revenues in Berlin, overseeing payments from Germany (1924-1930).
After returning from Berlin, McFadyean pursued a career in the City including as Chairman (1934-1952) and Director (1952-1967) of the merchant bank S.G. Warburg and Co. He was active in the rubber production sector, serving on the International Rubber Regulation Committee and the Board of Directors of numerous organisations including the Langkon North Borneo Rubber and United Sua Betong Rubber Estates. He also served on the Court of the North Borneo (Chartered) Company.
McFadyean was an important figure in the Liberal Party, standing as the party's candidate first for the City of London (1945) and then Finchley (1950). He held further positions as Joint Treasurer (1936-1948), President (1949-1950), and Vice-President (1950-1960). He was also a founding member and Vice-President (1954-1967) of Liberal International.
Other positions held by McFadyean included: Vice-President and Chairman of Council of the Anglo-Israel Association, Member of Council (1933-1967) and President (1970) of the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), and Chairman of the Institute of Pacific Relations (1944).
Main Areas of Interest
Finance, German Reparations after the First World War, Liberal Party, and rubber production and regulation.
Catalogue
A catalogue for this collection is available through the Archives catalogue.|
Further information
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