In April 2004, the United Nations assigned Mr. Volker to research possible corruption in the Iraqi Oil for Food program. In the report summarising the research, Volcker criticized Kojo Annan, son of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and the Swiss company Cotecna Inspection SA, Annan's employer, for trying to conceal their relationship. Volcker was a director of the United Nations Association of the United States of America from 2000-2004 prior to being appointed to the Independent Inquiry by Kofi Annan. Paul A. Volcker currently is serving as director of, or consultant to, a number of corporations and non-profit organizations.

Mr. Volcker was Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from August 1979 to August 1987, and is credited with the leading role in ending a period of high and rising inflation and restoring a base for sustained growth. Initially appointed to that position by President Carter for a four-year term, he was reappointed in 1983 by President Reagan. Upon completion of his second term as Chairman, Mr. Volcker returned to private life, joining as Chairman of the firm of James D. Wolfensohn Inc., a company concentrating on the provision of investment banking services to a limited number of large domestic and international organizations. He retired as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Wolfensohn & Co., Inc. upon the merger of that firm in 1996 with the Bankers Trust Company.