Alexandre Hay

Alexandre Hay AC (29 October 1919 – 23 August 1991) was a Swiss lawyer. From 1966 to 1976 he was Vice President of the Board of the Swiss National Bank. Later, from 1976 to 1987 he was President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Biography Hay was born on 29 October 1919 to Frédérik and Lydia Hay-Trachsler in Berne. The majority of his youth was spent in the politically tense pre-war climate of Geneva. There he studied law at the College of Geneva and passed the bar exam in 1944. From 1942 to 1945 he worked as a lawyer in Geneva. In 1945 Hay went to work for the consular service of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs in Paris. A year later he was appointed Attaché de légation. Then in 1948 he was promoted to Class II Secretary of Legation making him responsible for Swiss economic and financial interests in France. In 1952 became an executive member of the European Payments Union. A year later he became department head for the Zurich branch of the Swiss National Bank. From 1955 to 1966 he was director and assistant director of the department of the Second Bank of Bern. From 1966 to 1976 he was vice president and general manager of the executive board of the bank.