(2015-0245-F) Felix Rohatyn

The materials in FOIA 2015-0245-F are a selective body of documents responsive to the topic of the FOIA. Researchers should consult the archivist about related materials. Felix Rohatyn, was considered for the position of Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve by the Clinton Administration in 1996. Rohatyn never got formally nominated and he eventually requested that President Clinton remove him from the list of prospective nominees. He would served as the American Ambassador to France from 1997-2000. Making his name as an investment banker, Rohatyn joined the New York office of the firm of Lazard Freres and became a partner in 1961. The White House Office of Records Management (WHORM) Alpha File contains correspondence, speeches, handwritten notes, newspaper articles, and memoranda that deal (at least to a limited extent) with the proposed appointment of Felix Rohatyn to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The WHORM-Subject File-General contains memoranda and correspondence related to the possibility of Rohatyn being appointed to the position of Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. In a letter Rohatyn asked President Clinton to drop his name from consideration for that post because “my nomination would result in protracted and extraordinarily divisive hearings in which ideological issues will overwhelm any possibility of rational dialogue.” White House Staff and Office Files contain newspaper articles and court cases regarding Rohatyn (the result of Lexis/Nexis Research) and a speech by Rohatyn in the records of the First Lady’s Press Office. This material covered the period from 1974-1997 and concerned primarily Rohatyn and his appointment as Ambassador to France, the role he played in preventing New York City from descending into bankruptcy, and the potential appointment to the Federal Reserve.