Henry Paulson, a top Wall Street banker who has done business in China, was nominated by President George W. Bush to be the new U.S. treasury secretary in place of John Snow. Paulson, 60, "has an intimate knowledge of financial markets and ability to explain economic issues in clear terms," Bush said at a White House announcement in naming the top economic official his administration.
Paulson has served as chairman and chief executive of Goldman since May 1999. Another former Goldman CEO, Robert Rubin, served as Treasury secretary under President Clinton from 1995 to 1999. As head of Goldman Sachs, Paulson has reigned over an era of strong profits at the marquee bank with a growing role in China. Goldman Sachs is one of three underwriters on the monolithic Bank of China IPO set to trade later this week with proceeds of $10 billion.
Paulson also serves on the advisory board of the Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management. He is chairman of the board of The Nature Conservancy, an environmental organization, co-chairman of the Asia/Pacific Council of The Nature Conservancy and chairman emeritus of The Peregrine Fund, dedicated to conserving birds of prey.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2006
