Shultz, George Pratt (1920-2021), served as secretary of state in the administration of President Ronald Reagan from 1982 to 1989. He had previously held several important positions under President Richard M. Nixon. Shultz also served in the United States and abroad as an adviser to governments and to management and labor groups. As an arbitrator in labor disputes, he became noted for his fairness and his ability to bring about settlements.
Before joining the Reagan administration, Shultz served seven years as president of the Bechtel Group, Inc., a large international engineering company. From 1972 to 1974, he was secretary of the treasury and chairman of the Council on Economic Policy in the Nixon Administration. During that period, he was responsible for coordinating decisions affecting the government’s economic policy. Shultz served as Nixon’s secretary of labor in 1969 and 1970 and as director of the Office of Management and Budget from 1970 to 1972.
Shultz was born on Dec. 13, 1920, in New York City. He graduated from Princeton University in 1942 and received a Ph.D. degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1949. Shultz taught economics at MIT from 1948 to 1955, and in 1956 and 1957. He became a professor of industrial relations at the University of Chicago in 1957 and dean of the graduate school of business in 1962.
In 1989, after leaving his Cabinet post, Shultz returned to teaching. His publications include Economic Policy Beyond the Headlines (1978) and Turmoil and Triumph: My Years As Secretary of State (1993). Shultz died on Feb. 6, 2021.
See also Reagan, Ronald Wilson (Reagan’s first administration (1981-1985)) (Reagan’s second administration (1985-1989)) .
