Paulson, Henry Merritt, Jr. (1946-…), served as United States secretary of the treasury under President George W. Bush from 2006 to 2009. As treasury secretary, Paulson helped manage the government’s response to a severe economic crisis. Before taking office, Paulson headed Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., an investment banking firm. Following his tenure as treasury secretary, Paulson joined an international studies program at Johns Hopkins University.
As treasury secretary, Paulson faced a nationwide housing and financial crisis. Many homeowners were unable to pay their mortgages and faced foreclosure on their homes. In 2008, Paulson worked to stabilize the nation’s mortgage industry. That September, he signed an agreement that put the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) under government control. The two corporations buy mortgages from banks and other lenders. In October, Congress passed legislation providing a $700-billion bailout plan for the financial industry. The law, known as the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, called for the U.S. Treasury to purchase bad debt from troubled banks and other lenders. The law was intended to restore confidence in the financial markets and make it easier for consumers and businesses to obtain bank loans.
Paulson was born on March 28, 1946, in Palm Beach, Florida. He grew up on a farm in Barrington, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. He received a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College in 1968 and a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard University in 1970.
Paulson served as staff assistant to the U.S. assistant secretary of defense from 1970 to 1972. He served as staff assistant to President Richard M. Nixon from 1972 to 1973.
In 1974, Paulson began working in the Chicago office of Goldman Sachs. He became a partner in the firm in 1982. Paulson worked in several positions for the company before moving to New York City and becoming the firm’s chief operating officer in 1994. He became the chairman and chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs in 1999.
Paulson also has served on the boards of several environmental and educational organizations. Paulson served as chairman of the board of directors for the Nature Conservancy, an environmental conservation group, from 2004 to 2006. He later helped form the Latin America Conservation Council. In 2011, he founded the Paulson Institute at the University of Chicago. The institute works to promote environmentally sustainable economic practices.
See also Treasury, Department of the .
