Nathaniel Samuels

Nathaniel Samuels was an American investment banker. who served as Deputy Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs in the Nixon Administration.

Mr. Samuels, who had been an early proponent of global markets and was instrumental in helping revive international finance in Europe and the United States after World War II, was named to the position of Deputy Under Secretary in 1969. He served as the State Department's leading economic official.

Born in Chicago, Mr. Samuels graduated with a bachelor's degree from Harvard University in 1930. After studying law privately, he practiced law in Chicago until 1942, when he entered the Army.

It was Mr. Samuels's wartime experience that led him to abandon his law career for the world of international finance. He spent one winter in France studying the dossiers of German industrialists to help determine how best to help Germany after the war. He served as a first lieutenant and later joined the Mission for Economic Affairs for the United States Embassy in London.

In 1946, Mr. Samuels joined Sofina, an international investment and engineering firm in Brussels. He took a leave of absence in 1952 to work for the Mutual Security Agency in Paris.

Mr. Samuels joined the New York investment firm of Kuhn, Loeb & Company in 1955 and headed its international business. He became the firm's managing partner in 1966 and returned after he resigned from the State Department in 1972.