- W. Michael Blumenthal
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W. Michael Blumenthal 64th United States Secretary of the Treasury In office
January 23, 1977 – August 4, 1979President Jimmy Carter Preceded by William E. Simon Succeeded by G. William Miller Personal details Born Werner Michael Blumenthal
January 3, 1926
Oranienburg, GermanyPolitical party Democratic Alma mater University of California, Berkeley, Signature Werner Michael Blumenthal (born January 3, 1926) served as United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Jimmy Carter from 1977-1979.
Life and career
Blumenthal was born in Oranienburg, Brandenburg, Germany, the son of Rose Valerie (née Markt) and Ewald Blumenthal.[1] Blumenthal and his family were Jewish, and left the country in 1939, shortly before the outbreak of World War II. They went to Shanghai, and then to the United States in 1947. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1951 with a B.S. degree in business administration from the Haas School of Business, and later received a Ph.D from Princeton University, where he was also a Professor of Economics from 1953-1956. He then joined Crown Cork International Corporation, where he rose to Vice President and Director.
In the 1960s, he entered politics and public service. He served in the State Department from 1961 until 1967 as advisor to Presidents Kennedy and Johnson on trade. Following a ten-year career as president and then chairman of the board with Bendix International, President Jimmy Carter appointed him as Secretary of the Treasury, where he served from January 23, 1977 to August 4, 1979.
He returned to the business sector and joined Burroughs Corporation in 1980 as Vice Chairman, then Chairman of the Board a year later. After a merger into the Unisys Corporation in 1986, he became Chairman and CEO of Unisys, where he remained until retiring in 1990.[2]
From his former marriage, Blumenthal had three daughters: Ann, Jill, and Jane, and has many grandchildren.
Currently he resides in Berlin and Princeton, New Jersey, with his wife, Barbara and his son Michael, and is director of the Jewish Museum Berlin. In 2008, he was elected as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention, pledged to back President Barack Obama.
Awards and honors
Recipient of The International Center in New York's Award of Excellence.
In 1999, he received the Leo Baeck Medal for his humanitarian work promoting tolerance and social justice.
References
Political offices Preceded by
William E. SimonUnited States Secretary of the Treasury
Served under: Jimmy Carter
1977–1979Succeeded by
G. William MillerUnited States Secretaries of the Treasury Hamilton • Wolcott • Dexter • Gallatin • Campbell • Dallas • Crawford • Rush • Ingham • McLane • Duane • Taney • Woodbury • Ewing • Forward • Spencer • Bibb • Walker • Meredith • Corwin • Guthrie • Cobb • Thomas • Dix • Chase • Fessenden • McCulloch • Boutwell • Richardson • Bristow • Morrill • Sherman • Windom • Folger • Gresham • McCulloch • Manning • Fairchild • Windom • Foster • Carlisle • Gage • Shaw • Cortelyou • MacVeagh • McAdoo • Glass • Houston • Mellon • Mills • Woodin • Morgenthau • Vinson • Snyder • Humphrey • Anderson • Dillon • Fowler • Barr • Kennedy • Connally • Shultz • Simon • Blumenthal • Miller • Regan • Baker • Brady • Bentsen • Rubin • Summers • O'Neill • Snow • Paulson • GeithnerCategories:- 1926 births
- American businesspeople
- German Jews who emigrated to the United States to escape Nazism
- Haas School of Business alumni
- Jewish American politicians
- Jewish Chinese history
- Jews and Judaism in China
- Knight Commanders of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
- Living people
- People from Oranienburg
- Princeton University alumni
- United States Secretaries of the Treasury
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