Karl Klasen; Banker Stabilized, Strengthened German Mark

Karl Klasen, 81, whose tight monetary policy as head of Germany’s central bank helped make the German mark one the world’s most stable currencies. Klasen, whose dissertation theme for a doctorate in law dealt with human rights, had wanted to pursue a career as a judge. But he was rejected in 1935 by the Nazi government because of his membership in the leftist Social Democratic Party. Instead, Klasen was given a job as a legal adviser with a branch of the Bundesbank in the northern port city of Hamburg. He served in the German army during World War II, and afterward rejoined the Bundesbank branch in Hamburg as its deputy director. Klasen served as Bundesbank president from 1967 until his retirement in 1977. In Hamburg on Monday of cancer.