Paul O’Neill: The Price Of Standing for Beliefs

Paul Henry O’Neill is a business executive and a public servant. He was the CEO of Alcoa and the chairman of RAND Corporation when President George W. Bush appointed him a the 72nd Secretary of US Department of Treasury. Born December 4, 1935 in St. Louis, Missouri. He is a holder of bachelor’s degree in Economics and master’s degree in Public Administration.

O’Neill began his career in public service in 1961 when he worked in the Veterans Administration as computer systems analyst. In 1967, O’Neill moved to the US Office of Management and Budget and served as its deputy director between 1974 and 1977.

Following the loss of Gerald Ford in the election of 1976, O’Neill worked as executive of International Paper. He was the company’s vice president from 1977 to 1985 and president from 1985 to 1987.

President Bush appointed O’Neill as Secretary of Treasury in 1989. O’Neill was outspoken and always said things with the press that went against the Bush administration. He had many conflicts with the Bush administration which he described in the book he wrote entitled The Price of Loyalty. Because of his many disagreements with the President, he was fired in December 2002.