Jecker, Jean-Baptiste

(1810-1871)

   financier

   of swiss origin, Jean-Baptiste Jecker was born in Porrentruy. Employed at the Hottinguer bank in Paris (1831), he joined his brother in Mexico, where he founded a large bank, as well as mining enterprises. The Mexican president Miramon entrusted him with the nation's domestic debt, but his successor, President Juarez, refused to recognize the terms of their agreement. Jecker, who had become a naturalized French citizen (1862), tried to interest the imperial government of napoléon III, and in particular the duke of morny, in this debt issue, which would become one of the motivations for the Mexican expedition (1862-67).