FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
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March 21, 2005
JS-2329
Statement of Treasury Secretary John W. Snow On the Departure of Treasury Under Secretary John Taylor
Since the spring of 2001, Dr. John Taylor has served brilliantly and honorably as Treasury's Under Secretary for International Affairs. As he prepares to leave us and return to private life, we can't help but reflect on the size and scope of his service to our country over these past four years.
Of particular note and historic value, was John's participation in the Bush Administration's efforts to fight terror and spread freedom around the world. John was part of the creation of an international coalition to freeze terrorist assets in the weeks following September 11, 2001 . He played a key role in the successful creation of a new currency in Iraq . He also helped shepherd international agreements to reduce Iraq 's debt by 80 percent and led efforts to establish an historic new economic engagement with the Broader Middle East and North African countries.
John has always felt strongly that the President's call for greater integration of economic issues into the traditional political and security parts of foreign policy is having, and will have, enormous payoffs for freedom and prosperity around the globe.
Though he dealt with issues of global significance every hour of every day, John's greatest pride and pleasure at the Treasury Department was his interaction with the highly skilled people of Treasury's Office of International Affairs.
John has been a moral and intellectual leader in this Department, across the federal government, and in economic circles throughout the world. In fact, every central banker and finance minister I have met has been a student of John Taylor's work -- some have even been students in his classrooms. His wisdom and guidance will be sorely missed, and I speak on behalf of the entire department when I say we were extremely fortunate to have him serve in our ranks.
John will always be remembered at Treasury for both his fine mind and his friendly demeanor. He was a valued counselor to me and a valued professor to staff across the Department. His vision for economic growth around the globe is grounded in ethics and backed by economic understanding of the highest degree. His contributions to the Treasury and to the broader economic world in his Treasury role were invaluable.
The Treasury bids a fond farewell to a gentleman and a scholar; we thank him for his contributions and wish him all the best in all future endeavors.
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