Richard Darman

Richard Gordon Darman (May 10, 1943 – January 25, 2008) was an American businessman and government official who served in senior positions during the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush.

Life and career

Darman was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, the son of Eleanor F. and Morton H. Darman. His father was a textile mill owner. He attended Harvard University in 1964, and he married to the former Kathleen Emmet on September 1, 1967; they had three sons, William T. E., Jonathan W. E. and C. T. Emmet Darman.

Darman was regarded as provocative and intelligent by Washington insiders, but was criticized by some economists for being too focused on the budget deficit and was sometimes blamed for convincing Bush to renege on his promise of "Read my lips: No new taxes", which is widely believed to have contributed to Bush's defeat in the election of 1992. Darman had previously tried to stop Bush from making the promise during the 1988 campaign.

Prior to serving as Director of the Office of Management and Budget under the first President Bush from 1989 to 1993, Darman held other governmental positions, including: Assistant to the President of the United States and White House Staff Secretary (1981–85); Deputy Secretary of the Treasury (1985–87); and Assistant Secretary of Commerce (1976–77). He also was a member of the faculty of Harvard Kennedy School on three different occasions between 1977 and 2002.