Lord Roll was born in Austria and came to England in 1925. After a distinguished academic career he served in the Ministry of Food and the Treasury; in Whitehall, Washington and Paris. He was involved in Lend-Lease, the Marshall Plan, NATO, and the first Brussels negotiations. He ended his Civil Service career as Permanent Under-Secretary of State of the Department of Economic Affairs. Since 1966 he has been active in the City as an investment banker and is now President of the Warburg Group.