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Home | Office Holder | William M Daley
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William Michael Daley (born August 9, 1948 in Chicago, Illinois) served as U.S. Secretary of Commerce from 1997 to 2000 and is a lawyer and business executive. On November 5, 2008, Daley was named to the advisory board of the Obama-Biden Transition Project. Daley graduated with a B.A. from Loyola University Chicago, and an LL.B. from John Marshall Law School. Daley later accepted an honorary Doctor of Law degree from John Marshall Law School. Except for a period from 1977 to 1980, during which time he sat on the Advisory Council of Economic Opportunity, Daley practiced law privately with the firm Daley and George. He became associated with Amalgamated Bank of Chicago, where he was first vice chairman (1989 - 1990) and then president and chief operating officer (1990-1993). Daley returned to the practice of law, as a partner with the firm Mayer Brown (then Mayer, Brown & Platt) from 1993 to 1997. In 1993, he served as special counsel to the President on issues relating to the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). In 1997, Daley became Secretary of Commerce in the second administration of President Bill Clinton, and he remained at that post until July 2000, when he became chairman of Vice President Al Gore's presidential campaign, on which he was in charge of choosing a vice presidential nominee. In December 2001, he was appointed President of SBC Communications Inc. to help reform the company's image. In May 2004, Daley was made Midwest Chairman of J.P. Morgan Chase and Bank One Corp. to oversee post-merger operations from Chicago. Daley currently serves on the Boards of Directors of Boeing, Merck & Co., Inc, Boston Properties, Inc., and Loyola University Chicago. He also sits on the Council on Foreign Relations. He is the seventh and youngest child of the late Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley and Eleanor "Sis" Daley, and the brother of the city's current mayor, Richard M. Daley and John P. Daley. Daley was portrayed in the HBO film Recount, about the Florida election recount of the 2000 presidential election, by actor Mitch Pileggi. During the 2008 Democratic Presidential Primaries, Daley was a prominent supporter of Barack Obama. Daley is rumored to be exploring a 2010 gubernatorial run in Illinois, reportedly even asking associates to "stay neutral" until he makes a decision. On March 5, 2009, The Hill reported that Daley was leaning toward running for the Senate seat President Obama once held. Daley has criticized Cardinal Francis George for having opposed a speech by Barack Obama at The University of Notre Dame because of sharply differing views on abortion. |
