W. Michael Blumenthal

W. Michael Blumenthal
64th United States Secretary of the Treasury
In office January 23, 1977 – August 4, 1979
President	Jimmy Carter
Preceded by	William E. Simon
Succeeded by	G. William Miller
Born	January 3, 1926 (1926-01-03) (age 83) Oranienburg, Germany
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	University of California, Berkeley, Princeton University
Signature

Werner Michael Blumenthal (born January 3, 1926) served as United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Jimmy Carter from 1977-1979.

Born in Oranienburg near Berlin, Germany, Blumenthal fled the country with his parents 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.^[1]

From his marriage in 1951 to the former Margaret Polley, 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.

References

v • d • e United 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 • Geithner

v • d • e Cabinet of President Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)   Cabinet Secretary of State Cyrus Vance (1977–1980) • Edmund Muskie (1980-1981) Secretary of the Treasury W. Michael Blumenthal (1977–1979) • G. William Miller (1979-1981) Secretary of Defense Harold Brown (1977–1981) Attorney General Griffin Bell (1977-1979) • Benjamin R. Civiletti (1979-1981) Secretary of the Interior Cecil D. Andrus (1977-1981) Secretary of Agriculture Robert Bergland (1977-1981) Secretary of Commerce Juanita M. Kreps (1977-1979) • Philip M. Klutznick (1979-1981) Secretary of Labor Ray Marshall (1977-1981) Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare Joseph A. Califano, Jr. (1977-1979) • Patricia Roberts Harris (1979-1979) Secretary of Health and Human Services Patricia Roberts Harris (1979-1981) Secretary of Education Shirley M. Hufstedler (1979-1981) Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Patricia Roberts Harris (1977-1979) • Maurice "Moon" Landrieu (1979–1981) Secretary of Transportation Brock Adams (1977–1979) • Neil E. Goldschmidt (1979–1981) Secretary of Energy James R. Schlesinger (1977-1979) • Charles W. Duncan (1979-1981)   Cabinet-level Vice President Walter Mondale (1977-1981) Ambassador to the United Nations Andrew Young (1977 – 1979) • Donald McHenry (1979 – 1981) Director of the Office of Management and Budget Thomas "Bert" Lance (1977) • James T. McIntyre (1978 – 1981) Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers Charles L. Schultze (1977 – 1981) Advisor to the President on National Security Affairs Zbigniew Brzezinski (1977 – 1981)