Paul O'Neill
Paul H. O'Neill
December 4, 1935 - April 18, 2020
TERM AS TRUSTEE
September 17, 1981 - June 2018
BIOGRAPHY
Paul O’Neill was sworn in as the 72nd Secretary of the Treasury on January 20, 2001 by President George W. Bush and served until December 6, 2002.
Paul O’Neill started his career in government service under President Kennedy and continued working under Presidents Johnson, Nixon and Ford. O'Neill's mastery of federal budget details and process stems from his tenure at the US Office of Management and Budget (OMB). He joined OMB in 1967, and was deputy director of OMB from 1974 to 1977. He began his public service as a computer systems analyst with the US Veterans Administration, where he served from 1961 to 1966.
O'Neill was chairman and CEO of Alcoa from 1987 to 1999, and retired as chairman at the end of 2000. Prior to joining Alcoa, O'Neill was president of International Paper Company from 1985 to 1987, where he was vice president from 1977 to 1985. O'Neill's unique experience transforming an old economy firm into a new economy success has been chronicled as a study by the Harvard Business School, and studied in business schools across the nation. O'Neill has gained valuable insights into international finance and the global economy as head of a major corporation with 140,000 employees spread across 36 nations.
Paul O'Neill was a dear friend and trusted colleague of President Ford and had been on the Board of Trustees of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation since 1981. Throughout his extraordinary public service career, Secretary Paul H. O’Neill demonstrated the personal and professional qualities of integrity, strength of character, diligence, patriotism, and sound judgment. He was also the worthy recipient of the 2019 Gerald R. Ford Medal for Distinguished Public Service.
O’Neill received a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Fresno State College in California, and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Indiana University. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri and resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He and his wife Nancy had four children and 12 grandchildren. He passed away at his home in Pittsburgh on April 18, 2020 after a courageous battle with lung cancer.
Paul O’Neill and wife Nancy are greeted by First Lady Betty Ford and President Gerald R. Ford in the receiving line at the Dinner in Honor of State Governors and their Spouses Attending the National Governor’s Conference on February 3, 1976. (Photo Courtesy of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library)