Richard T. McCormack

Richard McCormack has returned to the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. He was most recently the Vice Chairman of Merrill Lynch and Co.Inc. He is responsible for strengthening Merrill Lynch's relationships with governments, corporations and investors around the world. In addition, he advises on strategy and policy matters as well as investment opportunities.

He was Senior Advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. While at CSIS, Mr. McCormack led a major project reviewing the US current account, and broader economic imbalance issues. This involved consultations with many of the world's top central bankers and political leaders, and culminated in a conference at CSIS chaired by Senator Chuck Hagel. Mr. McCormack also visited and reported on Afghanistan, Lebanon, China, Japan, Pakistan, India and several Western European countries. His paper, "Vulnerabilities in the Global Economy," was included in a major economics text book, International Financial Architecture, published in September 2005 by Palgrave/Macmillan. Several other papers on China and related issues also were published.

During the administration of President George H. W. Bush, Mr. McCormack served as Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs. He was also President Bush's principal "sherpa" coordinator for the President's involvement in the G-7 economic summits, receiving high praise from the former President for his contributions. He was awarded the State Department's highest award, the Distinguished Service Award, from Secretary of State James A. Baker III.

In President Reagan's administrations, he served as the US Ambassador to the OAS and received the Superior Honor Award for outstanding sustained performance. Prior to that, he was Assistant Secretary of State for Economics and Business. Earlier in his career, he was an advisor to a Senator on the Foreign Relations Committee, deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, and senior staff on the President's Council on Executive Organization at the White House, with lead responsibilities for developing plans for the Council on International Economic Policy at the White House under President Nixon.

He received his Ph.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Fribourg, Switzerland in 1966 and his B.A. from Georgetown University in 1963. In 1975-1977, he was a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. Mr. McCormack is married to Karen Hagstrom. They live with their three children in McLean, Virginia.

Ambassadorial Post(s)

Organization of American States (OAS), (1985 - 1989)

Areas of Expertise