In April 1982, he was appointed U.S. senator to finish the unexpired term of Harrison A. Williams, and did not seek election to a full term in office. As of 2024, Brady is the last Republican to serve in New Jersey's Class 1 U.S. Senate seat and is the oldest living former U.S. senator following the death of Daniel J. Evans in September 2024.
As Secretary of the Treasury, Brady proposed and enacted a novel debt-reduction agreement for developing countries which became known as Brady bonds.
Early life
Brady was born on April 11, 1930 in Manhattan, New York City, the son of James Cox Brady Jr., and his wife, Eliot Chace. He was named for his paternal great-uncle, businessman and philanthropist Nicholas Frederic Brady.[1] His great-grandfather was industrialist Anthony N. Brady.[2] His father was a major figure in thoroughbred horse racing in the United States and Europe.[3]
Brady's career in the banking industry spanned 34 years. He joined Dillon, Read & Co. in New York City in 1954, rising to chairman of the board in 1970.
He has been the Chairman of Darby Overseas Investments, Ltd. and Darby Technology Ventures Group, LLC, investment firms, since 1994. Mr. Brady is Chairman of Franklin Templeton Investment Funds (an international investment management company), a director of Hess Corporation (an exploration and production company) and Holowesko Partners Ltd. (investment management companies). He is also a director of the oilfield services company Weatherford International since 2004. He has been a director of the NCR Voyix, the Mitre Corporation, and Heinz, among others.
New Jersey politics and United States Senate appointment
Nicholas F. Brady as U.S. senator
Brady served as the Republican committeeman of Somerset County, New Jersey. In 1981, he served as head of the transition team for Thomas Kean following Kean's election as Governor of New Jersey.[6]
In 1982, Kean faced the duty of filling a vacancy caused by the resignation of United States Senator Harrison A. Williams, following a planned expulsion vote in the wake of the Abscamsting operation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Williams delayed his resignation for ten months following his conviction for bribery, preventing Democratic governor Brendan Byrne from appointing a successor, until junior senator Bill Bradley announced he would vote for expulsion on March 10, 1982.[6]
At the time of Williams' resignation, two Republican candidates, U.S. Representative Millicent Fenwick and conservative activist Jeff Bell, were already in the race for the next full term. U.S. Representative Jim Courter also planned a campaign for Senate but ultimately chose not to run. After a month of deliberation and consulting with over one hundred state and local Republicans, Kean chose to remain neutral in the primary and appointed Brady as a caretaker.[6]
In 1984, Reagan appointed Brady to be Chairman of the President's Commission on Executive, Legislative and Judicial Salaries. He also served on the President's Commission on Strategic Forces (1983), the National Bipartisan Commission on Central America (1983), the Commission on Security and Economic Assistance (1983), and the Blue Ribbon Commission on Defense Management (1985). He also chaired the Presidential Task Force on Market Mechanisms in 1987.
Early in his tenure as Treasury Secretary, The New York Times wrote that Brady had a rocky start and was "bland on television and awkward as a public speaker." But as a close friend and advisor to President Bush he had considerable influence. Chuck Schumer of New York, who was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives at the time, expressed the prevailing view: "Is he the smartest guy in the world? No. Did he make some major screwups? Yes. But Brady is one of the few people in the Government trying to do real substance. On savings and loan, he stepped up to the plate and swung at balls. The same with the third world debt. I'm not sure I agree with his plan, but at least he tried to do something. So, in an Administration where so much seems aimed at image and hype, Brady does deserve a lot of credit."[8]
Brady married Katherine Douglas (known as Kitty, daughter of Percy Livingston Douglas, president of the Otis Elevator Company) in 1952, and they had four children and 13 grandchildren. Katherine Brady died on January 6, 2021 at age 89.[11]
Although never involved with horse racing at the same level as his father, he served for a time as chairman of The Jockey Club. Mill House (Stable) is the nom de course for Brady's racing operation.[3]
^Quint, Michael. "The Financier 'Who Knows What Is Going On'", The New York Times, August 6, 1988; accessed November 27, 2007. "The great grandson of Anthony N. Brady, an Irish emigrant who was a friend and business associate of Thomas A. Edison, Nicholas Brady grew up on a large estate in Far Hills, N.J., that borders on the Dillon family estate."
