William M. Daley

For other people with a similar name, see William Daley

William Michael “Bill” Daley (born August 9, 1948) is an American lawyer and former banker^[1] and is the current White House Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama. He served as U.S. Secretary of Commerce from 1997 to 2000 under President Bill Clinton, and most recently served on the Executive Committee of JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Early life

He was born in Chicago, Illinois, and is the seventh and youngest child of the late Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley and Eleanor "Sis" Daley. He is also the brother of former Illinois legislator John P. Daley and former Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley.

He graduated with a B.A. from Loyola University Chicago, and an LL.B. law degree from John Marshall Law School. Daley later accepted an honorary Doctor of Law degree from John Marshall Law School. Except for a period from 1977 to 1980, during which time he sat on the Advisory Council of Economic Opportunity, Daley practiced law privately with the firm Daley and George.

Professional career

He became associated with Amalgamated Bank of Chicago, where he was first vice chairman (1989–1990) and then president and chief operating officer (1990–1993). Daley returned to the practice of law, as a partner with the firm Mayer Brown (then Mayer, Brown & Platt) from 1993 to 1997.

Daley was appointed to the board of Fannie Mae in 1993 by President Bill Clinton,^[2][3] where he served until 1997.

In December 2001, following his service as U.S. Secretary of Commerce under President Clinton, he was appointed President of SBC Communications to help reform the company's image. In May 2004, Daley was made the Midwest Chairman of JPMorgan Chase, following its acquisition of Bank One Corporation, to oversee its operations from Chicago. Daley formerly served on the Board of Directors of Boeing, Merck & Co., Boston Properties, and Loyola University Chicago. He is currently a trustee of Northwestern University and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Political career

Clinton administration

In 1993, he served as special counsel to the President on issues relating to the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).^[4] In 1997, Daley became U.S. Secretary of Commerce in the second administration of President Bill Clinton, and he remained at that post until July 2000.

Presidential politics

After he resigned as Commerce Secretary he became chairman of Vice President Al Gore's presidential campaign. He was portrayed in the HBO film Recount, about the Florida election recount of the 2000 presidential election, by actor Mitch Pileggi.

During the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries, Daley was a prominent supporter of Barack Obama. On November 5, 2008, Daley was named to the advisory board of the Obama-Biden Transition Project.^[5]

Obama administration

On January 6, 2011 President Barack Obama named Daley as his next White House Chief of Staff, and he took office on January 13, 2011. Daley succeeds Rahm Emanuel, who served as Chief of Staff during the first two years of the President's term and left the position in October 2010 to run to succeed Daley's brother as Mayor of Chicago, and Pete Rouse, who was serving as the interim Chief of Staff.

In March 2011, speaking for the Obama administration on Meet the Press, Daley said the administration will consider using the Strategic Petroleum Reserve if rising oil prices caused by turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa threaten the U.S. economy. Daley said Obama “is very concerned; we’re trying to look at all the possible options.” He repeated the administration’s stance that there is enough output capacity in the world to deal with any disruptions from Libya.^[6]

Daley was photographed in the White House Situation Room photograph taken on May 1, 2011 by Pete Souza.

In October 2011 Daley said he plans to return home to Chicago after President Obama makes it through his re-election. “I made a commitment to put the president through his re-election, which I’m confident he will do, and then my wife and I will be back in Chicago.”^[7]

References

External links

• White House Staff at WhiteHouse.gov
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• William M. Daley at WhoRunsGov at The Washington Post
• Profile at Forbes
• William M. Daley collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• William Daley collected news and commentary at the Chicago Tribune
• Brother Bill: A Look at William Daley at Chicago Magazine, February 2005
• Daley Family Tree (interactive graphic)
• William M. Daley at the Notable Names Database
• Obama Taps William Daley for Chief of Staff - video report by Democracy Now!
• Wall Street Journal - Why Obama Chose Bill Daley