Jeremy Raisman

Sir Abraham Jeremy Raisman
Born	Abraham Jeremy Raisman (1892-03-19) 19 March 1892 Leeds, England
Died	20 February 1978(1978-02-20) (aged 85)
Occupation(s)	Official, banker
Years active	1915–1970s
Known for	Finance Member of the Government of India (1939–1945), head of British India delegation at Bretton Woods Conference

Sir Abraham Jeremy Raisman, GCMG, GCIE, KCSI (19 March 1892 – 20 February 1978) was a British official and banker who held the position of Finance Member within the Government of India from 1939 until 1945.

Early life and career

Raisman was born in Leeds into a Jewish family of Lithuanian origin, his father working as a tailor. He attended Leeds High School before pursuing higher education at the University of Leeds and later at Pembroke College, Oxford. At Oxford, he achieved a double first in Classical Moderations and Literae humaniores and was awarded the John Locke Scholarship in Moral Philosophy in 1915.

Due to myopia, he was exempt from military service during the war but succeeded in ranking second in his year on the Indian Civil Service examinations. His initial posting was as assistant magistrate and collector in Bihar, progressing to under-secretary in the Financial Department by 1920. Raisman became proficient in several local languages such as Hindi, Bhojpuri, and Maithili, while also supporting his siblings’ education financially. His subsequent roles included assistant collector of customs in Bombay (1922) and Calcutta (1926), followed by commissioner of income tax for both Punjab and the North-Western Frontier Province during 1928 and 1929. In August 1929, he took on special duties with the Central Board of Revenue.

By 1931, Raisman had advanced to deputy secretary and then joint secretary within the Commerce Department, with confirmation by 1932. He was appointed officiating member of the Central Board of Revenue in 1932 and secured permanent status by 1935. His career trajectory continued upward with appointments as additional secretary (1936) and officiating secretary (1937) in the Finance Department. In October 1937, he assumed the role of director at the Reserve Bank of India.

Finance Member of the Government of India

In April 1939, Raisman joined the Governor General's Executive Council as Finance Member. In this capacity, he managed India's wartime finances characterized by substantial deficit spending and escalated governmental costs.

Bretton Woods Conference

Raisman represented British India as head of its delegation at the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference. Although some Indian delegates expressed dissatisfaction that an Indian did not lead the delegation, prominent figures such as Anand Chandavarkar and Archna Negi contended that Raisman negotiated the most favorable terms for India possible, suggesting that outcomes would have been similar irrespective of whether an Indian or British official led.

Post-Indian career

Despite his desire to retire as early as 1943 to enter business in Britain, Raisman’s tenure was extended until 1945 by the British Cabinet due to a shortage of qualified Indian successors. After delivering his final budget speech in March 1945, he formally retired from his Indian administrative role.

Upon returning to England, Raisman was appointed a Public Works Loan Commissioner in 1947 and chaired the Public Works Loans Board between 1948 and 1970. He held senior roles at Lloyds Bank including vice-chairman (1947–1953) and deputy chairman (1953–1963), served as deputy chairman at Glaxo, and was a director at Sun Alliance. Following retirement from active management, he became a respected international advisor on fiscal matters.

The Raisman Program in Pakistan bears his name.

Honours

Among the distinctions awarded to Raisman are the CIE in 1934, CSI in 1938, a knighthood conferred in 1939, KCSI in 1941, GCIE in 1945, and GCMG in 1959. In 1961, he was granted an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by the University of Leeds and was also named an honorary fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford.

Family

In 1925, Raisman wed Renée Mary Kelly. They had two sons: John Michael Raisman, CBE (born 1929), who served as chairman of Shell UK between 1979 and 1985, and Jeremy Philip Raisman (1935–2016), who was senior partner at Eversheds from 1993 until 1999.