Lawrence Summers

Prior to his service as President of Harvard University, Lawrence Summers enjoyed a brilliant career as an economist and public servant, culminating in a highly successful term as United States Secretary of the Treasury. The youngest tenured professor in Harvard's modern history, Dr. Summers was the first social scientist to win the prestigious Waterman Prize of the National Science Foundation. He was serving as chief economist of the World Bank when President Bill Clinton tapped him to serve as Undersecretary of the Treasury for International Affairs. In 1999, the Senate confirmed Summers's appointment as Secretary of the Treasury, the chief economic adviser to the President and the government's chief financial officer. As Secretary, Summers effected a historic paying down of the national debt, worked for reform of the International Monetary Fund and advocated debt relief for the world's poorest countries. As President of Harvard University, he led an unprecedented $4 billion capital drive and has initiated the construction of an enormous new campus across the Charles River. Today he serves in the administration of President Barack Obama as Director of the National Economic Council and Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, responsible for the coordination of the United States' domestic and international economic policy.