Gene Sperling
| Gene Sperling | |
|---|---|
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|
| Director of the National Economic Council | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 20, 2011 |
|
| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Lawrence Summers |
| In office December 12, 1996 – January 20, 2001 |
|
| President | Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | Laura Tyson |
| Succeeded by | Lawrence Lindsey |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 24, 1958 Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic Party |
| Spouse(s) | Allison Abner |
| Children | 2 (one biological; one step-child) |
| Alma mater | University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Yale University University of Pennsylvania |
Gene B. Sperling (born December 24, 1958) is an American lawyer and Democratic Party political figure,[1] currently serving as Director of the National Economic Council under President Barack Obama.[2]
Contents |
Life and career [edit]
Sperling was born to a Jewish family[3] in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he attended the alternative Community High School. He received a B.A. in political science from the University of Minnesota, a J.D. from Yale Law School, and attended The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. In the 1990s Gene Sperling worked for New York Governor Mario Cuomo.
During Bill Clinton's first term as President, from 1993–1996, Sperling served as deputy director of the National Economic Council while the Council was directed by Robert Rubin, who was promoted to Treasury Secretary. Sperling became National Economic Adviser to Clinton and director of the National Economic Council from 1996 to 2000.
Sperling is the author of The Pro-Growth Progressive, a book arguing that liberals should seek to harness market forces in pursuing progressive goals, and co-author of What Works In Girls' Education?. He was also a consultant for the television series The West Wing.
As director of the NEC, Sperling, who had played a key role in the 1993 Deficit Reduction Act, was a key negotiator of the 1997 bipartisan Balanced Budget Act.[4] Sperling was also a principal negotiator with then-Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers of the Financial Modernization Act of 1999, also known as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. Gramm-Leach-Bliley repealed large portions of the depression-era Glass-Steagall Act allowing banks, securities firms and insurance companies to merge.[5]
Also in 1999, together with United States Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky, Sperling successfully negotiated and concluded the China-World Trade Organization agreement in Beijing, paving the way for China to enter the WTO in 2001.[5]
Sperling was the chief economic advisor for Hillary Clinton during her presidential campaign.[6][7]
Sperling was also on the staff of the Council on Foreign Relations, where he founded and served as director of the Center for Universal Education—an organization focused on ensuring quality, universal education for the world’s poorest children.[8]
Prior to joining the Obama administration as an unconfirmed counselor, Sperling earned $887,727 from Goldman Sachs in 2008 and $158,000 for speeches mostly to financial companies. Sperling has asserted that he was compensated by Goldman Sachs for his role in 10,000 Women, which promotes entrepreneurial opportunities for women in poor countries. Sperling received $2.2 million in total compensation in 2008 from a variety of consulting jobs, board seats, speaking fees and fellowships.[9]
Obama Administration [edit]
From 2009 to 2011, Sperling served as a counselor to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, advising on fiscal, budget, tax, job creation and small business issues.[10]
In January 2011, President Barack Obama appointed Sperling as the director of the National Economic Council.
On February 27, 2013, Sperling was identified as the source of a story by Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward that claims Woodward would regret publishing a story he was working on to question President Obama’s account of how sequestration came about.[11]
Personal life [edit]
Sperling is married to television writer Allison Abner, whom he met when he was a consultant on NBC’s The West Wing. They have a five-year-old daughter together and 16-year-old son from Abner’s previous marriage.[12]
Works [edit]
- Dellinger, Walter; Sperling, Gene B. (1989). "Abortion and the Supreme Court: The Retreat from Roe v. Wade". University of Pennsylvania Law Review 138 (1): 83–118. doi:10.2307/3312180. JSTOR 3312180.
- Herz, Barbara; Sperling, Gene B. (2004). What Works In Girls' Education: Evidence And Policies From The Developing World. New York: Council on Foreign Relations Press. ISBN 0-87609-344-6.
- Sperling, Gene B. (1985). "Judicial Right Declaration and Entrenched Discrimination". Yale Law Journal 94 (7): 1741–1765. doi:10.2307/796220. JSTOR 796220.
- ——— (2001). "Toward Universal Education: Making a Promise, and Keeping It". Foreign Affairs 80 (5): 7–13. doi:10.2307/20050246. JSTOR 20050246.
- ——— (2005). The Pro-Growth Progressive: An Economic Strategy for Shared Prosperity. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-3753-6.
- Treanor, William Michael; Sperling, Gene B. (1993). "Prospective Overruling and the Revival of 'Unconstitutional' Statutes". Columbia Law Review 93 (8): 1902–1955. doi:10.2307/1123007. JSTOR 1123007.
References [edit]
- ^ Montgomery, Lori; Dennis, Brady (January 7, 2011). "Obama names Sperling to head National Economic Council". Washington Post. "Sperling is not an economist by training, he is valued as a savvy political strategist with proven ability to extract victories on fiscal issues from a hostile Congress."
- ^ CNN.com: Volcker stepping down from White House advisory post
- ^ The Jewish Daily Forward: "Meet the Four Jews Shaping the U.S. Economy" By Nathan Guttman February 28, 2013
- ^ The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, [1], January 7, 2011.
- ^ a b National Economic Council, Profile of Gene Sperling
- ^ A look at the Clinton economic plan , Kai Ryssdal interviews Gene Sperling, Marketplace, January 31, 2008
- ^ The Advisers Are Writing Our Future David Leonhardt, The New York Times, April 18, 2007.
- ^ Council on Foreign Relations, [2].
- ^ Bloomberg News, Geithner Aides Reaped Millions Working for Banks, Hedge Funds, October 14, 2009.
- ^ National Economic Council,[3].
- ^ Politico.com; for a different take on the supposed "threat" see 1600 penned
- ^ The Daily Beast: "Democrats' Negotiator in Chief" by Lloyd Grove May 19, 2011
External links [edit]
- Official website at the White House
- Appearances on C-SPAN programs
- Appearances on Charlie Rose
- Appearances at the Internet Movie Database
- Works by or about Gene Sperling in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
- Collected news and commentary at The New York Times
- Collected news and commentary at The Washington Post
- Entry at NNDB
- Commonwealth Club of California, archived speech[dead link]
- "The Pro-Growth Progressive" - Gene Sperling speaks at Google[dead link]
- Obama appointee Sperling was key H-1B broker, Computerworld, January 11, 2011
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Laura Tyson |
Director of the National Economic Council 1996–2000 |
Succeeded by Lawrence Lindsey |
| Preceded by Lawrence Summers |
Director of the National Economic Council 2011–present |
Incumbent |
|
