Gordon G. Thiessen

Gordon G. Thiessen

Gordon G. Thiessen, economist, banker (b at South Porcupine, Ont 14 Aug 1938). Raised and educated in Saskatchewan, Thiessen joined the BANK OF CANADA in 1963 as a research economist specializing in monetary analysis. He spent 10 years there and earned his PhD from the London School of Economics during that time. He left the bank in 1973 to become the visiting economist at the Reserve Bank of Australia before returning to the Bank of Canada in 1975.

As a department head and then adviser to the governor, Thiessen was a key figure in establishing the monetary policies of the bank. He became the deputy governor in 1984 and succeeded John CROW as governor in 1994. His quiet style and low-key personality was a distinct departure from the often controversial Crow, but he remained committed to the monetarist policies of his predecessor.