Hansen, Kenneth R. (Kenneth Rudolph), 1923-1981.

American economist; assistant director, Bureau of the Budget, 1961-1964; subsequently consulting economist.

Biographical/Historical Note

An American economist, Kenneth R. Hansen was assistant director of the Bureau of the Budget and a consultant for development projects in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Hansen was born in St. Anthony, Idaho, on June 1, 1923. He began his government work in the Military Intelligence Service at the start of World War II and served as an executive officer of that group from 1946 to 1949. From 1948 to 1949, Hansen was the chief of economic intelligence for the United States Allied Commission for Austria (USACA). Hansen was a special assistant for the Economic Cooperation Authority mission as chief to Austria under the Marshall Plan, where he dealt with problems of trade and payments, including East-West trade and currency reforms. From 1952 to 1954, he worked in the Mutual Security Agency negotiating efforts to control East-West trade and forming economic policy for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In 1958, Hansen led a group of international sociologists and economists preparing a seven-year development plan for Iran. He returned to the U.S. in 1961, when he became assistant director of the Bureau of the Budget. He left that position in 1964.

After Hansen resigned from government service, he served as the vice president for corporate planning of Syntax Corporation from 1964 to 1968. After 1968, he became a consulting economist for various organizations that implemented projects in developing countries. Hansen became president of the American and Canadian operations of the urban planning organization Doxiadis Associates in 1971. Returning to California, Hansen consulted for organizations in Iran, Turkey, Sudan, Bangladesh, and other countries, as well as heading a team of Harvard University faculty advising the government of Singapore on transportation. He served as an economic consultant for a variety of organizations, including the World Bank and Dames & Moore, as well as serving as a senior advisor to the Sinai, Egypt Development Program and the Volvo Lahore Transportation Project. Hansen passed away in 1981 in Los Altos Hills, California.

Source :

Kenneth R. Hansen obituary. New York Times . 31 August 1981