Disregarding party lines, President Kennedy appointed Republican Clarence Douglas Dillon Secretary of the Treasury in 1961. Mr. Dillon worked closely with the Bureau of the Budget and the Council of Economic Advisors, and sought to foster economic growth through domestic tax cuts and international trade. Regarded as one of President Kennedy’s most influential economic advisors, Mr. Dillon was also involved in the creation of the Alliance for Progress and helped promote the anti-tariff Trade Expansion Act of 1962. He also participated in the secret ExComm meetings during the Cuban missile crisis. Mr. Dillon remained secretary of the treasury for the first sixteen months of the Johnson Administration, before leaving government service to resume his position as president and director of the United States and Foreign Securities Corporation and the United States and International Securities Corporation.
1909 August 21, Born, Geneva, Switzerland
1931 B.A., Harvard University
1932-1936 New York Stock Exchange
1936-1937 Director of the United States and Foreign Securities Corporation and the International Securities Corporation
1938 Vice President and Director, Dillon, Read and Co. investment firm
1941-1946 Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy
1946 Director of the United States and Foreign Securities Corporation and the International Securities Corporation
1953-1957 United States Ambassador to France
1958-1959 Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs
1959-1961 Undersecretary of State
1961-1965 Secretary of the Treasury
1965 Resumes as Director of the United States and Foreign Security Corporation and the International Security Corporation
1968-1982 President, Board of Overseers at Harvard College
1970-1976 Chairman, Brookings Institution
1972-1975 Chairman, Rockefeller Foundation
1978-1983 Chairman, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City
1989 Awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom
2003 Jan. 10, Died
See also:
Archives and Manuscripts: C. Douglas Dillon
Oral History Project