 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Donald Regan" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(August 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Donald Regan | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Regan in 1985 | |
| 11thWhite House Chief of Staff | |
| In office February 4, 1985 – February 27, 1987 | |
| President | Ronald Reagan |
| Preceded by | James Baker |
| Succeeded by | Howard Baker |
| 66thUnited States Secretary of the Treasury | |
| In office January 22, 1981 – February 1, 1985 | |
| President | Ronald Reagan |
| Deputy | R. T. McNamar |
| Preceded by | G. William Miller |
| Succeeded by | James Baker |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Donald Thomas Regan (1918-12-21)December 21, 1918 Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | June 10, 2003(2003-06-10) (aged 84) Williamsburg, Virginia, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Ann George Buchanan (m. 1942) |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | Harvard University (BA) |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | United States Marine Corps |
| Rank | Lieutenant colonel |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Donald Thomas Regan[a] (December 21, 1918 – June 10, 2003) was an American government official and business executive who served as the 66thUnited States secretary of the treasury from 1981 to 1985 and as the 11thWhite House chief of staff from 1985 to 1987 under PresidentRonald Reagan.
Regan studied atHarvard University before he served in theU.S. Marine Corps, achieving the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1946, he began to work forMerrill Lynch, serving as its chairman and CEO from 1971 to 1980. In theReagan administration, Regan advocated "Reaganomics" andtax cuts as a means to create jobs and to stimulate production.
Donald Regan was born inCambridge, Massachusetts, the son of Kathleen (née Ahearn) and William Francis Regan. He was ofIrish Catholic origins. Regan earned his Bachelor of Arts in English fromHarvard College in 1940 and attendedHarvard Law School before dropping out to join theMarine Corps at the outset ofWorld War II. He reached the rank oflieutenant colonel while he was serving in thePacific Theater. He was involved in five major campaigns, includingGuadalcanal andOkinawa.
In 1942, Regan married the former Ann George Buchanan, with whom he had four children: Donna Regan Lefeve, Donald T. Regan Jr., Richard William Regan, and Diane Regan Doniger.
After the war, Regan joinedMerrill Lynch in 1946 as an account executive trainee. He worked up through the ranks, eventually taking over as the firm's chairman and CEO in 1971; he held those positions until 1980.
Regan was one of the original directors of theSecurities Investor Protection Corporation and was vice chairman of theNew York Stock Exchange from 1973 to 1975. He was a major proponent of brokerage firms going public, which he viewed as an important step in the modernization of Wall Street. Under his supervision, Merrill Lynch had itsinitial public offering on June 23, 1971, becoming the second Wall Street firm to go public afterDonaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.
During his tenure in these two positions, Regan pushed hard for an end to minimum fixed commissions for brokers, which were fees that brokerage companies had to charge clients for every transaction they made on the clients' behalf. Regan saw them as acartel-like restriction. His lobbying played a large part of fixed commissions being abolished in 1975.
PresidentRonald Reagan selected Donald Regan in 1981 to serve as treasury secretary, marking him as a spokesman for his economic policies, dubbed "Reaganomics". He helped engineer changes in the tax code, reduce income tax rates, and decrease taxes for corporations. Regan unexpectedly swapped jobs with then White House chief of staffJames Baker in 1985.
As chief of staff, Regan was closely involved in the day-to-day management of White House policy, which ledHoward Baker, Regan's successor as chief of staff, to give a rebuke that Regan was becoming a "prime minister" inside an increasingly-compleximperial presidency. During his four years as Secretary of the Treasury, Regan did not have a single one-to-one meeting with the president. Regan was forced to resign for repeatedly disagreeing with the First Lady and for his role in theIran–Contra affair.[1] TheTower Commission, established by President Reagan to investigate the scandal, concluded that Regan was responsible for the "chaos" that took hold of the White House. "More than almost any Chief of Staff in recent memory, he asserted control over the White House staff and sought to extend this control to the National Security Adviser. He was personally active in national security affairs, and attended almost all the relevant meetings regarding the Iran initiative. He, as much as anyone, should have insisted that an orderly process be observed."[2]
Regan's 1988 memoir,For the Record: From Wall Street to Washington, exposes his disagreements with first ladyNancy Reagan, revealing publicly that she had a personal astrologer who was later revealed to beJoan Quigley with whom she consulted and who helped steer the president's decisions. Regan wrote:
Virtually every major move and decision the Reagans made during my time as White House Chief of Staff was cleared in advance with a woman in San Francisco [Quigley] who drew up horoscopes to make certain that the planets were in a favorable alignment for the enterprise.[3][4]
Ronald and Nancy Reagan denied that astrology influenced any policies or decisions.[5]
Regan is portrayed byFrank Moore in the 2003 TV filmThe Reagans.
Regan retired quietly inVirginia with Ann Regan, his wife of over 60 years. In later life, he spent nearly 10 hours a day in his art studio painting landscapes. He had four children and nine grandchildren.[6]
Regan died of cancer on June 10, 2003, at the age of 84, in a hospital near his home inWilliamsburg, Virginia, and was served by Nelsen Funeral Home.[6] His remains were interred atArlington National Cemetery.[7]
"And the horse you rode in on" was a favorite saying of Regan. He learned it from a poker buddy inTexas who said, "fuck you and the horse you rode in on". Regan adopted the latter part of the phrase.[citation needed] In the portrait of Regan that hangs on the third floor of the treasury, the title of a book in the background readsAnd the Horse You Rode In On.[8]
"You've got to give loyalty down if you want loyalty up."[9][10]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | United States Secretary of the Treasury 1981–1985 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | White House Chief of Staff 1985–1987 | Succeeded by |
 | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| People | |
| Other | |
