Nicholas F. Brady

Last updated

Kitty Douglas
(m. 1952;died 2021)
Nicholas F. Brady
Nicholas F. Brady - Secretary of the Treasury portrait.jpeg
Official portrait of Brady as Secretary of the Treasury
68th United States Secretary of the Treasury
In office
September 15, 1988 January 17, 1993
Children4
Education Yale University (BA)
Harvard University (MBA)
Signature Nicholas F Brady sig.jpg

Nicholas Frederick Brady (born April 11, 1930) is an American politician from the state of New Jersey, who was the United States Secretary of the Treasury under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, and is also known for articulating the Brady Plan in March 1989. In 1982, he was appointed to complete the unexpired term of Harrison A. Williams as a United States Senator following Williams' resignation. Brady is the last Republican to hold New Jersey's Class 1 Senate seat.

Contents

Early life

Brady was born in Manhattan, New York City, the son of James Cox Brady Jr., and his wife, Eliot Chace. He was named for his paternal great-uncle, businessman and philanthropist Nicholas Frederic Brady. [1] His great-grandfather was industrialist Anthony N. Brady. [2] He grew up on an estate in Far Hills, New Jersey. [3] After graduating from St. Mark's School in Southborough, Massachusetts, Brady attended Yale University (B.A., 1952), where he was a member of Chi Psi fraternity. He received his M.B.A. from Harvard University in 1954. [4]

Career

Brady with President Ronald Reagan in 1988 President Ronald Reagan Meeting with Nicholas Brady in The Oval Office.jpg
Brady with President Ronald Reagan in 1988
Brady with President George H. W. Bush in 1992 George H. W. Bush and Nicholas Brady.jpg
Brady with President George H. W. Bush in 1992

Brady's political career began when he was appointed by Governor Thomas Kean as a Republican Senator from New Jersey to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Harrison A. Williams. He served from April 12, 1982, through December 27, 1982, and did not seek election to a full term. During his time in the Senate, he was a member of the Armed Services Committee and the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.

In 1984, Reagan appointed Brady to be Chairman of the President's Commission on Executive, Legislative and Judicial Salaries. He also served on the President's Commission on Strategic Forces (1983), the National Bipartisan Commission on Central America (1983), the Commission on Security and Economic Assistance (1983), and the Blue Ribbon Commission on Defense Management (1985). He also chaired the Presidential Task Force on Market Mechanisms in 1987.

Brady became the 68th Secretary of the Treasury on September 15, 1988, and served during the last four months of Reagan's presidency and throughout the Bush administration. In 1989, after a period of years in which a number of developing countries, including Mexico, defaulted on their international debt, he developed the Brady Plan to help them sell dollar-denominated bonds. These became known as Brady Bonds.

Early in his tenure as Treasury Secretary, The New York Times wrote that Brady had a rocky start and was "bland on television and awkward as a public speaker." But as a close friend and advisor to President Bush he had considerable influence. Chuck Schumer, a Democratic congressman at the time, expressed the prevailing view: "Is he the smartest guy in the world? No. Did he make some major screwups? Yes. But Brady is one of the few people in the Government trying to do real substance. On savings and loan, he stepped up to the plate and swung at balls. The same with the third world debt. I'm not sure I agree with his plan, but at least he tried to do something. So, in an Administration where so much seems aimed at image and hype, Brady does deserve a lot of credit." [5]

He is a former chairman of the board of Dillon Read & Co. Inc. (investment banking) (1970–1988) and a former Chairman of Purolator, Inc. (filtration products) (1971–1987).

Brady's career in the banking industry spanned 34 years. He joined Dillon, Read & Co. in New York City in 1954, rising to chairman of the board. He has been the Chairman of Darby Overseas Investments, Ltd. and Darby Technology Ventures Group, LLC, investment firms, since 1994. Mr. Brady is Chairman of Franklin Templeton Investment Funds (an international investment management company), a director of Hess Corporation (an exploration and production company) and Holowesko Partners Ltd. (investment management companies). He is also a director of the oilfield services company Weatherford International since 2004. He has been a director of the NCR Corporation, the MITRE Corporation, and the H.J. Heinz Company, among others. His father had been a major figure in Thoroughbred horse racing both in the United States and in Europe. Although never involved with the sport at the same level as his father, Nicholas Brady served for a time as chairman of The Jockey Club. Mill House (Stable) is the nom de course for Brady's racing operation. [6]

He has also served as a trustee of Rockefeller University and a member of the Board of the Economic Club of New York. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Inc and a former member of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group. [7] He is a former trustee of the Boys' Club of Newark. Brady received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement in 1977. [8]

Personal life

Brady married Katherine Douglas (known as Kitty, daughter of Percy Livingston Douglas, president of the Otis Elevator Company) in 1952, and they had four children. Brady's wife died on January 6, 2021 at age 89. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C. Douglas Dillon</span> American diplomat

Clarence Douglas Dillon was an American diplomat and politician, who served as U.S. Ambassador to France (1953–1957) and as the 57th Secretary of the Treasury (1961–1965). He was also a member of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (ExComm) during the Cuban Missile Crisis. His conservative economic policies while Secretary of the Treasury were designed to protect the U.S. dollar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William E. Simon</span> American politician

William Edward Simon was an American businessman and philanthropist who served as the 63rd United States Secretary of the Treasury. He became the Secretary of the Treasury on May 9, 1974, during the Nixon administration. After Nixon resigned, Simon was reappointed by President Gerald Ford and served until 1977 when President Jimmy Carter took office. Outside of government, he was a successful businessman and philanthropist. The William E. Simon Foundation carries on this legacy. He styled himself as a strong advocate of laissez-faire capitalism. He wrote, "There is only one social system that reflects the sovereignty of the individual: the free-market, or capitalist, system".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Lugar</span> American politician (1932–2019)

Richard Green Lugar KBE was an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Indiana from 1977 to 2013. He was a member of the Republican Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Baker</span> American lawyer and statesman (born 1930)

James Addison Baker III is an American attorney, diplomat and statesman. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 10th White House Chief of Staff and 67th United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Ronald Reagan and the 61st U.S. Secretary of State before returning as the 16th White House Chief of Staff under President George H. W. Bush.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Brady</span> White House Press Secretary under Ronald Reagan (1940–2014)

James Scott Brady was an American public official who served as assistant to the U.S. president and the 17th White House Press Secretary, serving under President Ronald Reagan. In 1981, John Hinckley Jr. shot and wounded Brady during Hinckley’s attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan, which occurred two months and ten days after Reagan's inauguration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Volcker</span> American economist (1927–2019)

Paul Adolph Volcker Jr. was an American economist who served as the 12th chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1979 to 1987. During his tenure as chairman, Volcker was widely credited with having ended the high levels of inflation seen in the United States throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, with measures known as the Volcker shock. He previously served as the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York from 1975 to 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Tower</span> United States Senator from Texas (1925–1991)

John Goodwin Tower was an American politician and military veteran who represented Texas in the United States Senate from 1961 to 1985. He was the first Republican elected to the U.S. Senate from Texas since Reconstruction. Tower is known for leading the Tower Commission, which investigated the Iran-Contra Affair in the Reagan administration.

James A. Johnson was an American businessman, Democratic Party political figure, and chairman and chief executive officer of Fannie Mae. He was the campaign chairman for Walter Mondale's unsuccessful 1984 presidential bid and chaired the vice presidential selection committee for the presidential campaign of John Kerry. He briefly led the vice-presidential selection process for the 2008 Democratic presidential nominee, Senator Barack Obama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Nitze</span> American government official

Paul Henry Nitze was an American businessman and government official who served as United States Deputy Secretary of Defense, U.S. Secretary of the Navy, and Director of Policy Planning for the U.S. State Department. He is best known for being the principal author of NSC 68 and the co-founder of Team B. He helped shape U.S. Cold War defense policy over the course of numerous presidential administrations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Wright (businessman)</span> American businessman

Joseph "Joe" Wright is an American businessman. From 1988 to 1989, he worked in the United States government as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget for president Ronald Reagan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert S. Strauss</span> American diplomat (1918–2014)

Robert Schwarz Strauss was an influential figure in American politics, diplomacy, and law whose service dated back to future President Lyndon Johnson's first congressional campaign in 1937. By the 1950s, he was associated in Texas politics with the faction of the Democratic Party that was led by Johnson and John Connally. He served as the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee between 1972 and 1977 and served under President Jimmy Carter as the U.S. Trade Representative and special envoy to the Middle East. He later served as the Ambassador to Russia under President George H.W. Bush. Strauss also served as the last United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Feldstein</span> American economist (1939–2019)

Martin Stuart Feldstein was an American economist. He was the George F. Baker Professor of Economics at Harvard University and the president emeritus of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). He served as president and chief executive officer of the NBER from 1978 to 2008. From 1982 to 1984, Feldstein served as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers and as chief economic advisor to President Ronald Reagan. Feldstein was also a member of the Washington-based financial advisory body the Group of Thirty from 2003.

Roger Charles Altman is an American investment banker, the founder and senior chairman of Evercore, and a former Democratic politician. He served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Carter administration from January 1977 until January 1981 and as Deputy Secretary of the Treasury in the Clinton administration from January 1993 until he resigned in August 1994, amid the Whitewater controversy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Paulson</span> 74th United States Secretary of the Treasury (born 1946)

Henry "Hank" Merritt Paulson Jr. is an American investment banker and financier who served as the 74th United States Secretary of the Treasury from 2006 to 2009. Prior to his role in the Department of the Treasury, Paulson was the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of major investment bank Goldman Sachs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John C. Whitehead</span> American civil servant

John Cunningham Whitehead was an American banker and civil servant, a board member of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation, and, until his resignation in May 2006, chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenneth W. Dam</span> American politician (1932–2022)

Kenneth Willard Dam was an American politician and academic who served as Deputy Secretary of the Treasury from 2001 to 2004, where he specialized in international economic development. He was a senior fellow of the Brookings Institution and a professor emeritus and senior lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School.

Dillon, Read & Co. was an investment bank based in New York City. In 1991, it was acquired by Barings Bank and, in 1997, it was acquired by Swiss Bank Corporation, which was in turn acquired by UBS in 1998.

Membership in the Council on Foreign Relations comes in two types: Individual and Corporate. Individual memberships are further subdivided into two types: Life Membership and Term Membership, the latter of which is for a single period of five years and is available to those between the ages of 30 and 36 at the time of their application. Only U.S. citizens and permanent residents who have applied for U.S. citizenship are eligible. A candidate for life membership must be nominated in writing by one Council member and seconded by a minimum of three others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David W. Mullins Jr.</span> American economist and government official (1946–2018)

David Wiley Mullins Jr. was an American economist who served as the 14th vice chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1991 to 1994. Prior to his term as vice chairman, Mullins served as a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, taking office in 1990. Before his appointment to the Federal Reserve, he served as the under secretary of the treasury for domestic finance under President George H. W. Bush. Mullins left the government service to join the hedge fund Long Term Capital Management and remained in private finance following its collapse in 1998.

Edward Noonan Ney was the chief executive officer of advertising agency Young & Rubicam from 1970 to 1986, and served as United States Ambassador to Canada from 1989 to 1992.

References

  1. A Son to Mrs. James Cox Brady Jr., NYTimes.com; accessed March 29, 2015.
  2. Sullivan, Joseph F. (April 13, 1982). "Quiet Senator From New Jersey". New York Times .
  3. Quint, Michael. "The Financier 'Who Knows What Is Going On'", The New York Times , August 6, 1988; accessed November 27, 2007. "The great grandson of Anthony N. Brady, an Irish emigrant who was a friend and business associate of Thomas A. Edison, Nicholas Brady grew up on a large estate in Far Hills, N.J., that borders on the Dillon family estate."
  4. "Nicholas F. Brady (1988–1989) | Miller Center". millercenter.org. October 4, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  5. Rosenbaum, David (November 19, 1989). "The Treasury's 'Mr. Diffident'". New York Times. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  6. Woodbine Entertainment – Retrieved June 26, 2011 Archived June 20, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  7. "Former Steering Committee Members". bilderbergmeetings.org. Bilderberg Group. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
  8. "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement.
  9. "Obituary of Katherine Douglas Brady | Bailey Funeral Home - Peapack". baileyfuneral.com. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
U.S. Senate
Preceded by U.S. senator (Class 1) from New Jersey
1982
Served alongside: Bill Bradley
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by U.S. Secretary of the Treasury
Served under: Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush

1988–1993
Succeeded by
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded byas Former US Cabinet Member Order of precedence of the United States
as Former US Cabinet Member
Succeeded byas Former US Cabinet Member