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Commissioner Kenneth R. Papaj Retires

On Jan. 3, 2008, Kenneth R. Papaj will retire from his position as Commissioner of Treasury's Financial Management Service (FMS) with more than 34 years of federal service.

Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr. said, "Ken Papaj's 34 years at the Treasury Department have been dedicated to improving governmentwide financial management. Ken demonstrated outstanding leadership and judgment as FMS Commissioner. In key executive positions over the last 20 years, he has been instrumental in modernizing federal disbursements, revenue collections, central accounting, debt collection, and the regulation of government securities. He has been a highly respected leader in the financial management community."

Secretary Paulson also commended Mr. Papaj on his recent efforts to "improve Treasury's relationship with Chief Financial Officers across the Government, for ensuring operational excellence throughout FMS, and for his genuine commitment to our strategic goal of the all-electronic Treasury."

"We will miss his vast knowledge of government fiscal operations," Secretary Paulson added.

Prior to appointment as FMS Commissioner, Mr. Papaj served as FMS' Deputy Commissioner from January 1998 to May 2006. He began his Treasury career in 1973 at the Bureau of Government Financial Operations which became FMS. In 1974, Mr. Papaj moved to Treasury's Bureau of Public Debt (BPD), where he held various management assignments in the areas of government securities market regulation and Treasury securities operations. At BPD, he served as Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Securities and Accounting Services and as Director of the Government Securities Regulations Staff.

Mr. Papaj's leadership and accomplishments are widely recognized throughout Treasury, the Federal Reserve System and the government. For sustained extraordinary service, Mr. Papaj received three Presidential Rank Awards, including Distinguished Executive, the highest award given to a member of the Senior Executive Service. A native of Buffalo, N.Y., Mr. Papaj holds a bachelor's degree in political science from the State University College at Buffalo, where he graduated summa cum laude.

FMS, a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, is primarily responsible for collecting government revenues, issuing federal payments like social security, veterans' benefits and tax refunds, collecting delinquent debt, and government-wide accounting. In the past year, FMS issued approximately one billion federal payments to more than 100 million people and collected more than $3.11 trillion of federal revenues.