Pietro Angelo Stoppani

Nationality

Italy

Date of Birth

1879

Date of Death

1968

Political
Preference

Liberal

Pietro Stoppani was an Italian politician. Born in Milan in 1879, Stoppani came from an American-Italian immigrant family and joined the League of Nations in 1923, becoming Director of the Economic Relations Section in April 1931. He worked closely with Alexander Loveday of the United Kingdom, who took the position of Director of the Financial Section. Stoppani helped to organise the World Economic Conference in Geneva in 1927, as well as the World Economic and Financial Conference in London in 1933, and advocated for international economic cooperation and free trade.

During Stoppani’s time at the League of Nations, he proposed a plan in 1936 which promoted an international economic agreement between Great Britain, France, and the United States, and Germany and Italy. He hoped to prevent another European war through this agreement, and toured Europe promoting this ideal. Even though his plan was never implemented, Stoppani continued to apply his ideas and economic expertise at the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC), where he advocated for multilateralism and free trade in the Trade and Payments section.