Lauchlin Currie was born on October 8, 1902, in West Dublin, Nova Scotia. He attended the London School of Economics and received his Ph.D. from Harvard University. Currie was an instructor and tutor at Harvard and a professor of International Economics at Fletcher Graduate School. In 1934, he was appointed as an analyst for the United States Treasury Department, later becoming Assistant Director of Research and Statistics for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. In 1939, he became an Administrative Assistant to the President of the United States, and in 1941, was named head of the Economic Mission to China. Currie resigned his position with the Government on June 30, 1945, and opened his own consulting business.