David Robert Macdonald (November 1, 1930 – November 28, 2008) was an American government official. He served as

United States Assistant Secretary of the Treasury A United States Assistant Secretary of the Treasury is one of several positions in the United States Department of the Treasury, serving under the United States Secretary of the Treasury. History According to U.S. statute, there are eight Assista ...

(Enforcement, Operations, and Tariff Affairs) from 1974 to 1976; as

Under Secretary of the Navy Under may refer to: * "Under" (Alex Hepburn song), 2013 * "Under" (Pleasure P song), 2009 *Bülent Ünder (born 1949), Turkish footballer *Cengiz Ünder (born 1997), Turkish footballer *Marie Under (1883–1980), Estonian poet * Under (restaurant) ...

from 1976 to 1977; and as Deputy U.S. Trade Representative from 1981 to 1983.

Biography

David Robert Macdonald was born in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

on November 1, 1930. He was educated at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

, receiving a

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

in 1952, and at the

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Comparative Law (MCL ...

, receiving a J.D. in 1955. After serving in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

from 1955 to 1957, Macdonald took a job as an attorney with the Chicago law firm of

Kirkland & Ellis Kirkland & Ellis LLP is an American multinational law firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1909, Kirkland & Ellis is the largest law firm in the world by revenue and the seventh-largest by number of attorneys, and was the first la ...

. He worked at Kirkland & Ellis until 1962, at which point he joined

Baker & McKenzie Baker McKenzie is an international law firm located in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1949, originally named Baker & McKenzie. It now has 77 offices in 46 countries. It employs 4,809 attorneys total, and approximately 13,000 employees tot ...

as a

partner Partner, Partners, The Partner, or, The Partners may refer to: Books * ''The Partner'' (Grisham novel), by John Grisham, 1997 * ''The Partner'' (Jenaro Prieto novel), 1928 * ''The Partners'' (book), a 1983 book by James B. Stewart * ''Partner'' (m ...

. Macdonald practiced law at Baker & McKenzie until 1974, when he left the firm upon being appointed

Assistant Secretary of the Treasury A United States Assistant Secretary of the Treasury is one of several positions in the United States Department of the Treasury, serving under the United States Secretary of the Treasury. History According to U.S. statute, there are eight Assista ...

(Enforcement, Operations, and Tariff Affairs). In 1976,

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Gerald Ford nominated Macdonald as

and Macdonald held this office from September 14, 1976, to February 4, 1977. Upon leaving public service in 1977, Macdonald returned to Baker & McKenzie. He also became a member of the board of directors of the Chicago Crime Commission at this time. In 1980, he was a member of the executive committee of the World Trade Conference. From 1979 to 1981, Macdonald was an active member of the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. Political action committee, political committee that assists the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republi ...

, serving on its Policy Board, Economic Affairs Council, and as cochairman of its tax subcommittee. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan named Macdonald as a Deputy U.S. Trade Representative under

United States Trade Representative The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is an agency of the United States federal government responsible for developing and promoting American trade policy. Part of the Executive Office of the President, it is headed by the ...

Bill Brock William Emerson Brock III (November 23, 1930 – March 25, 2021) was an American Republican politician who served in both chambers of the United States Congress from 1963 to 1977 and later in the United States Cabinet from 1981 to 1987. He was ...

, and Macdonald served in this capacity until 1983, at which point he again returned to Baker & McKenzie. Macdonald died at home on November 28, 2008, at the age of 78.

References

Sources

David R. Macdonald's papers at the Gerald Ford Presidential Library

Press conference announcing nomination of Macdonald as Deputy United States Trade Representative
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, David R. 1930 births 2008 deaths United States Under Secretaries of the Navy Cornell University alumni University of Michigan Law School alumni People associated with Kirkland & Ellis People associated with Baker McKenzie