John Henry Huber

John Henry Huber was born in 1929 in San Francisco to Swiss parents. When he was three years old, the family returned to Switzerland.  In 1949, he went back to the US to attend Rutgers University. He received his Masters’ Degree in 1955 and his PhD in Economics in 1957 from Wharton. USAID then offered him a job at USAID/Cambodia as economist in the Planning Office. His next assignment was to the Abidjan regional office for four West African countries. From there he transferred to the Central African Republic where he opened a new USAID post. In Bangui, John focused this fledgling AID mission on supporting friendly missions with US-made reliable trucks and introducing telecommunications. In 1964 the AID budget for Africa was drastically reduced, the USAID office in Bangui closed, and the functions were given to the American Embassy. John and family returned to Washington in the summer of 1964. Morale at the USAID home office was at a low ebb and John eventually moved to the Export/Import bank where he would secure financing for U.S. exports, a post he filled until his retirement.

In retirement, John took a short-term assignment with the World Bank. He also travelled the world for USIS lecturing and praising the benefits of privatization. He was a regular guest speaker at a Swiss Bankers Seminar and had belonged to an economic consulting firm called IDEA.   He succumbed to COVID-19 on Easter Monday, April 13, 2020. John leaves his wife of 60 plus years, three sons, Peter and Pat, Steve and Francis and Vilma and their two children, Jonimaya and Jeremy. He is also survived by his brother, Christopher and wife Erika, in Oregon and was predeceased by his sister, Maria.