Joining nations 1947-1990

JOINING NATIONS

then German Democratic Republic which, together with Brazil, was elected to membership. The end of 1973 was overshadowed by a severe international financial crisis caused by a sharp increase in the worldwide price of oil. Although this had no apparent direct effect on the IIW in 1974, it did underline the instability, already apparent for several years, of sterling as a currency. Consequently in 1974, when the Assembly was held in Budapest, the Governing Council decided that, with effect from 1975, subscriptions to the IIW should no longer be paid in sterling but in Swiss francs , in which currency the accounts would be kept. This did not however mean that the IIW's finances were unsound. On the contrary, total sales income from IIW publications in l 973 had amounted to some £34 ooo and income from enrolment fees, royalties and investments represented 56% of total receipts. There was thus no apparent cause for concern when Mr Granjon took office at the end of the l 974 Assembly and when the Governing Council elected as Dr Geerlings' successor as President in 1975, Professor Bengt J akobsson of Sweden. Professor Jakobsson was a professor at the Chalmers Institute of Technology in Goteborg and had been leader of the Swedish delegation for several years. As such he had served as Vice-President at the time of the l 97 I Assembly in Stockholm when his many gifts had so favourably impressed his col– leagues as to mark him out as an ideal candidate for the Presidency - a judgement which was to be amply vindicated.