“Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there shall be a Department of Treasury, in which shall be the following officers, namely: a Secretary of the Treasury, to be deemed head of the department…”

~Act of Congress Establishing the Treasury Department, Chapter XII, Section 1

In 1779, Congress invited Richard Price, a well-respected British philosopher of economics, to journey across the Atlantic to assume the position of Secretary of the Treasury and direct American finances, but he declined. Ten years later, George Washington appointed Alexander Hamilton, his former aide-de-camp and a brilliant 34 year-old New York lawyer, to be the first Secretary of the Treasury.

The Treasury portrait of Hamilton was painted by a noted American artist, Daniel Huntington in 1865, based on an earlier portrait painted from life by John Trumball.. Department of the Treasury

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Hamilton established a philosophical precedence in the office of the Secretary of the Treasury that has since been emulated, but unmatched. He was a sharp political theorist who believed that man’s capacity for logic, reason, and justice makes possible the existence of free government, while his tendencies towards passion, dishonesty, and injustice make it necessary.

As Secretary, Hamilton was the first to demand a sound currency with stable banking in order to promote national economic growth and was essential in shaping the way the Secretary of the Treasury mobilizes and manages financial issues within the federal government.

Today, the Secretary of the Treasury is responsible for formulating and advising domestic and international financial, economic, and tax policy. The Secretary of the Treasury participates in the formulation of broad fiscal policies, manages the public debt, oversees the responsibilities of the department in performing its law enforcement duties, serves as the key financial agent for the U.S. government, and monitors the manufacturing of coins and currency. In addition to domestic issues, the Secretary of the Treasury represents the United States in international financial entities such as the International Monetary Fund, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Asian Developmental Bank, the African Developmental Bank, the European Developmental Bank, and the Inter-American Developmental Bank.

Secretary Paul O’Neil took a moment to ceremoniously open Treasury’s North Wing on June 28th, completing the first phase of TBARR. Robert Mills’ East wing is currently undergoing restoration in phase 2.
Photographed by Chris Taylor

The order of presidential succession in the United States Constitution represents another duty of the Secretary of the Treasury. If the President of the United States is not able to continue in the office by reason of death, resignation, removal from office, or inability, then the line of succession is as follows: Vice President of the Unites States, Speaker of the House, President Pro Tempore of the Senate, Secretary of State, and then Secretary of the Treasury.

 

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