John Edward Holloway

John Edward “Jack” Holloway was born near Hopetown in 1890 and studied history at Victoria College, Stellenbosch, after supporting his schooling through work for a clothing shop. He taught at Grey College and went to Ghent for further study in 1914. The German invasion drove him to Britain, where he turned to economics at the London School of Economics. His 1917 doctorate examined the economic causes of the Great Trek. ²

Back in South Africa, Holloway taught at the Transvaal University College and became its first full professor of economics in 1922. He entered government as director of census and statistics in 1925, became Treasury economic adviser in 1934, and served as secretary for finance from 1937 to 1950. His work also included university funding: the commission of 1951–1953 produced the funding formula associated with his name. ²

At Bretton Woods in July 1944, Holloway took part in drafting the International Monetary Fund’s purposes. When India sought an explicit commitment to developing poorer countries’ resources, he argued that this belonged principally to the proposed international bank. ³

Holloway presented ambassadorial credentials in Washington on 18 October 1954. He later served as high commissioner in London from 1956 to 1958 and led a South African trade mission to Europe in 1961. ^{1, 2}