O’Neill, Paul Henry (1935-2020), served as United States secretary of the treasury under President George W. Bush in 2001 and 2002. O’Neill resigned as treasury secretary in late 2002 after some political leaders, concerned about the nation’s weak economy, called for his resignation.
O’Neill was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on Dec. 4, 1935. He received a bachelor’s degree from Fresno State College in 1960 and a master’s degree in public administration from Indiana University in 1966. He joined the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in 1961 as a computer systems analyst. In 1967, he moved to the Office of Management and Budget , where he became deputy director in 1974.
In 1977, O’Neill went to International Paper Company as a vice president. He became president of the company in 1985. In 1987, he was named chairman of the board and chief executive officer (CEO) of Alcoa Inc. , the world’s largest aluminum manufacturer. O’Neill introduced accounting and manufacturing changes at Alcoa that led to greatly increased profits for the company. He stepped down as CEO in 1999 and retired as board chairman in 2000.
O’Neill received national attention in early 2004 when Ron Suskind’s book The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O’Neill appeared. The book is based on extensive interviews with O’Neill. It describes O’Neill’s experiences as treasury secretary and is sharply critical of the Bush administration. O’Neill died on April 18, 2020.
