Donald Regan

Donald Regan
Born	Donald Thomas Regan 21 12, 1918
Birthplace	Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	Template:Death date and age Williamsburg, Virginia, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Government official, business executive
Known for	66th United States Secretary of the Treasury, 11th White House Chief of Staff
Education	Harvard University (BA)
Spouse(s)	Ann George Buchanan (m. 1942)
Children	4

Donald Thomas Regan (December 21, 1918 – June 10, 2003) was an American government official, business executive, and military veteran who served as the 66th United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1981 to 1985 and as the 11th White House Chief of Staff from 1985 to 1987 under President Ronald Reagan. Before entering government, Regan built a distinguished career on Wall Street, rising from a trainee at Merrill Lynch in 1946 to become the firm's chairman and chief executive officer, a position he held from 1971 to 1980. A decorated United States Marine Corps officer who served in World War II and achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel, Regan brought a forceful management style to both the private sector and the halls of government. As Treasury Secretary, he was a principal architect and advocate of the economic policies that became known as "Reaganomics," championing tax cuts as a means to stimulate production and create jobs. His tenure as White House Chief of Staff was marked by an unprecedented concentration of executive authority, but also by the eruption of the Iran–Contra affair, which ultimately led to his departure from government in February 1987. The New York Times described him as a "steel-willed financier" who became an "uncommonly powerful chief of staff."

Early Life

Donald Thomas Regan was born on December 21, 1918, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He grew up in a working-class Irish-American family in the greater Boston area. Despite modest economic circumstances, Regan demonstrated academic ability from an early age and was able to pursue higher education at one of the nation's most prestigious institutions.

After completing his undergraduate studies at Harvard University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, Regan enlisted in the United States Marine Corps following the American entry into World War II. He served with distinction during the war, participating in combat operations in the Pacific theater. Over the course of his military career, Regan rose through the officer ranks and ultimately achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel. His military service instilled in him a disciplined, command-oriented approach to leadership that colleagues and subordinates would later observe throughout his career in both finance and government.

Upon his return from military service after the war's conclusion, Regan sought to establish himself in the private sector. In 1942, during the early years of the war, he had married Ann George Buchanan, and the couple would go on to have four children together. The transition from military life to civilian pursuits led Regan to Wall Street, where he would spend the next three and a half decades building a career that would take him to the summit of American finance.

Education

Regan attended Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree. His education at Harvard provided a foundation for his subsequent career in finance, and his association with the university placed him among a cohort of prominent public figures who graduated from the institution during the interwar period. The analytical and intellectual training he received at Harvard would prove instrumental in his later work shaping economic policy at the highest levels of the United States government.

Career

Merrill Lynch

In 1946, following the end of World War II and his departure from active military service, Regan joined the brokerage firm Merrill Lynch as a trainee. Starting at the bottom of the firm's hierarchy, he steadily advanced through the ranks over the next quarter-century. His rise within Merrill Lynch was a testament to his business acumen, managerial discipline, and the forceful personality that characterized his professional life.

By 1968, Regan had ascended to the role of president of Merrill Lynch. In 1971, he was named chairman and chief executive officer of the firm, which by that time had become one of the largest and most influential brokerage houses on Wall Street. Under Regan's leadership, Merrill Lynch expanded its operations and solidified its position as a leading financial services company. He served as chairman and CEO for nearly a decade, from 1971 to 1980, during a period of significant transformation in the American financial industry.

Regan's tenure at Merrill Lynch coincided with turbulent economic conditions in the United States, including the oil crises of the 1970s, stagflation, and significant volatility in equity markets. His experience managing a major financial firm through these challenges gave him a deep understanding of capital markets, taxation, and economic policy — expertise that would soon attract the attention of the incoming Reagan administration.

Secretary of the Treasury (1981–1985)

Following Ronald Reagan's victory in the 1980 United States presidential election, Donald Regan was nominated to serve as the 66th United States Secretary of the Treasury. He assumed office on January 22, 1981, succeeding G. William Miller, who had served under President Jimmy Carter. R. T. McNamar served as his deputy secretary during this period.

As Treasury Secretary, Regan became one of the principal advocates and architects of the economic program that came to be known as "Reaganomics." The core tenets of this approach included significant reductions in income tax rates, a belief that lower taxes would stimulate economic growth, increase production, and create jobs. Regan played a central role in shepherding the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 through Congress, which represented one of the largest tax cuts in American history at that time. The legislation reduced the top marginal income tax rate and introduced indexing of tax brackets for inflation.

Regan's approach to economic policy was rooted in supply-side economics, which held that reducing the tax burden on businesses and individuals would generate sufficient economic activity to offset the revenue losses from lower rates. He was a forceful advocate for this position within the administration and in public appearances before Congress and the media.

During his tenure at Treasury, Regan also oversaw early efforts at tax reform that would eventually culminate in the Tax Reform Act of 1986, enacted after he had moved to the White House. He worked to simplify the tax code and broaden the tax base while lowering rates. The Treasury Department under Regan's leadership produced detailed proposals for comprehensive tax reform that laid the groundwork for the eventual legislation.

Regan served as Treasury Secretary for four years, from January 22, 1981, to February 1, 1985. His time at the department was marked by the implementation of the Reagan administration's economic agenda, the economic recession of 1981–1982, and the subsequent recovery that began in late 1982 and continued through the mid-1980s.

White House Chief of Staff (1985–1987)

In an unusual arrangement, Regan and James Baker, who had been serving as White House Chief of Staff, effectively swapped positions in early 1985. Baker moved to the Treasury Department, and Regan assumed the role of 11th White House Chief of Staff on February 4, 1985.

Regan's tenure as Chief of Staff was characterized by an extraordinary concentration of power and influence within the White House. A January 1986 profile in The New York Times Magazine described him as "not only the most dominant figure in the Administration after the President, but, perhaps, the most powerful chief of staff" in recent memory. Regan brought his corporate management style from Merrill Lynch to the West Wing, centralizing decision-making and controlling access to the President to a degree that generated both admiration and resentment among White House staff and cabinet members.

His approach to the Chief of Staff role differed markedly from that of his predecessor. Where Baker had operated through consensus-building and a troika arrangement shared with Edwin Meese and Michael Deaver, Regan consolidated authority in his own office. He sought to manage the White House with the same hierarchical discipline he had employed as a corporate chief executive, a style that proved both effective in certain administrative functions and deeply controversial in the political environment of Washington.

The most significant crisis of Regan's time as Chief of Staff was the eruption of the Iran–Contra affair in late 1986. The scandal, which involved the secret sale of arms to Iran and the diversion of proceeds to fund Contra rebels in Nicaragua, engulfed the Reagan administration and raised serious questions about the management and oversight of national security policy within the White House. As the details of the affair became public, Regan faced intense scrutiny over what he knew about the operations and whether the Chief of Staff's office had failed in its oversight responsibilities.

The political fallout from the Iran–Contra affair, combined with Regan's already strained relationships with several key figures in the administration and the First Lady, Nancy Reagan, contributed to his departure from the White House. Regan's relationship with Nancy Reagan had become notably contentious; disputes between the two over scheduling, personnel, and the direction of the administration had been a persistent source of tension. The conflict became a significant factor in his eventual removal.

Donald Regan left his position as White House Chief of Staff on February 27, 1987, and was succeeded by former Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee. His departure marked the end of a tumultuous period in the Reagan White House and the beginning of a new phase in which the administration sought to recover from the damage inflicted by the Iran–Contra scandal.

Post-Government Career

After leaving the White House, Regan authored a memoir titled For the Record: From Wall Street to Washington (1988), in which he offered his account of his time in the Reagan administration. The book attracted significant public attention, particularly for its revelations about the influence of astrology on White House scheduling, a practice Regan attributed to Nancy Reagan's consultations with an astrologer. This disclosure became one of the most widely discussed aspects of the book and generated considerable media coverage.

Regan largely withdrew from public life after the publication of his memoir. He settled in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he lived in retirement for the remaining years of his life.

Personal Life

Donald Regan married Ann George Buchanan in 1942, during the early years of World War II. The couple remained married for over six decades and had four children together.

After his retirement from government service, Regan and his wife resided in Williamsburg, Virginia. He maintained a relatively private existence in his later years, stepping away from the public prominence that had defined his decades in finance and government.

Donald Thomas Regan died on June 10, 2003, in Williamsburg, Virginia, at the age of 84. His death was reported by major news outlets, with The New York Times publishing an extensive obituary that summarized his career as a "steel-willed financier" who had served at the highest levels of both the private sector and the federal government.

Regan was a member of the Republican Party throughout his political career.

Recognition

Donald Regan's career spanned multiple arenas of American public and private life, earning him recognition in each. His rise from trainee to chairman and CEO of Merrill Lynch, one of Wall Street's most prominent firms, established him as a leading figure in American finance during the 1970s.

As the 66th Secretary of the Treasury, Regan was recognized as one of the principal figures responsible for implementing the economic policies of the Reagan administration. His advocacy of tax cuts and supply-side economics placed him at the center of one of the most consequential shifts in American economic policy in the latter half of the twentieth century.

His tenure as White House Chief of Staff, while controversial, was recognized for the unprecedented degree of authority he exercised in the role. The 1986 New York Times Magazine profile of his management of the White House contributed to the public's understanding of the office and its power within the executive branch.

Regan's C-SPAN appearances and public testimony before Congress during his years in government are preserved in the C-SPAN archives as part of the historical record of the Reagan administration.

His personal papers and records from his government service are preserved in the National Archives and Records Administration.

Legacy

Donald Regan's legacy is defined by his roles at the intersection of American finance and government during a transformative period in the nation's economic history. As the head of Merrill Lynch during the 1970s, he led one of Wall Street's flagship firms through a period of significant economic upheaval and industry change. His transition from the private sector to the cabinet represented a model that subsequent administrations would follow, drawing on Wall Street executives to fill senior economic policy positions.

As Secretary of the Treasury, Regan was instrumental in enacting the tax cuts and economic policies that defined the first term of the Reagan presidency. The Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 and the broader policy framework of Reaganomics reshaped the American tax code and influenced economic debates for decades. His early work on tax reform at Treasury also contributed to the passage of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, one of the most significant pieces of tax legislation in American history.

Regan's tenure as Chief of Staff remains a subject of study for scholars of the American presidency and executive branch management. His centralization of power within the Chief of Staff's office represented one extreme of the organizational spectrum for White House management, and his experience — including the difficulties that arose from the Iran–Contra affair — has informed subsequent discussions about the proper scope and limits of the Chief of Staff role.

The controversies that surrounded his departure from the White House, including his public disputes with Nancy Reagan and his revelations in For the Record, added a personal dimension to his legacy that extended beyond policy. His memoir's disclosure of the role of astrology in White House scheduling became an enduring anecdote in the popular history of the Reagan presidency.

The 2025 Supreme Court case concerning presidential tariff authority referenced Dames & Moore v. Regan (1981), a landmark case from Regan's time as Treasury Secretary that established important precedents regarding executive power in foreign affairs and economic sanctions. The continued relevance of this case in constitutional law underscores the lasting impact of Regan's time at the Treasury Department on American jurisprudence.