Jack Lew

Jack Lew
Name	Jack Lew
Caption	Official portrait, 2013
Office	76th United States Secretary of the Treasury
President	Barack Obama
Term start	February 28, 2013
Term end	January 20, 2017
Predecessor	Timothy Geithner
Successor	Steven Mnuchin
Office1	25th White House Chief of Staff
President1	Barack Obama
Term start1	January 27, 2012
Term end1	January 25, 2013
Predecessor1	William M. Daley
Successor1	Denis McDonough
Office2	Director of the Office of Management and Budget
President2	Barack Obama , Bill Clinton
Term start2	November 18, 2010
Term end2	January 27, 2012
Predecessor2	Jeffrey Zients (Acting)
Successor2	Sylvia Mathews Burwell
Term start3	May 21, 1998
Term end3	January 19, 2001
Predecessor3	Franklin Raines
Successor3	Mitch Daniels
Birth name	Jacob Joseph Lew
Birth date	29 August 1955
Birth place	New York City, New York, U.S.
Party	Democratic
Spouse	Ruth Schwartz, 1984
Education	Carleton College (BA) , Georgetown University (JD)

Jack Lew. Jacob Joseph Lew is an American attorney and public servant who served as the 76th United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Barack Obama. His career spans multiple presidential administrations, marked by key roles in budget management and economic policy. He also served as White House Chief of Staff and twice as Director of the Office of Management and Budget, under both Obama and President Bill Clinton.

Early life and education

Jacob Joseph Lew was born in New York City to parents who were descendants of Polish Jews. He was raised in Queens and attended Forest Hills High School, where he was an active member of the debate team. For his undergraduate studies, he enrolled at Carleton College in Minnesota, graduating with a degree in political science in 1978. He subsequently earned a Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., where he served as an editor for the Georgetown Law Journal.

Early career

After law school, Lew began his career as a legislative assistant to Representative Joe Moakley of Massachusetts. He then moved to the role of senior policy advisor for the House Democratic Caucus under Speaker Tip O'Neill. In the late 1980s, he joined the prominent law firm Van Ness Feldman, focusing on energy policy and environmental law. His early work established a foundation in legislative process and policy analysis that would inform his later government service.

Clinton administration

Lew joined the Clinton administration in 1993 as a special assistant to the president, focusing on the Office of Management and Budget. He rose to become the agency's Deputy Director in 1995, playing a central role in budget negotiations with the Republican-controlled Congress that led to a balanced budget. In 1998, Clinton appointed him as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, a position he held until the end of the administration. During this tenure, he oversaw the first federal budget surpluses in decades.

Obama administration

Returning to public service, Lew was initially appointed in 2009 as the Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources under Secretary Hillary Clinton. In 2010, President Obama named him to again lead the Office of Management and Budget, where he managed the administration's response to the Great Recession and the debates over the debt-ceiling crisis. He served as White House Chief of Staff from 2012 to 2013 before being confirmed as United States Secretary of the Treasury. As Treasury Secretary, his signature appeared on U.S. currency, and he helped implement the Dodd–Frank Act, navigate sanctions against Iran, and advocate for the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Post-government career

Following his government service, Lew joined the private equity firm Lindsay Goldberg and served as a managing partner. He also took on roles in academia, including a senior fellowship at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a professorship at Columbia University. In 2023, President Joe Biden nominated him to serve as the United States Ambassador to Israel, a post he assumed amid the ongoing Israel–Hamas war.

Personal life

Lew married Ruth Schwartz in 1984, and they have two children. He is an observant Orthodox Jew, which has influenced his schedule and dietary observances throughout his public career. His signature, characterized by a distinctive loopy script, became a topic of public discussion when it appeared on the U.S. dollar bill.

Category:1955 births Category:Living people Category:United States Secretaries of the Treasury Category:White House Chiefs of Staff