George Pratt Shultz ( SHUULTS; December 13, 1920 – February 6, 2021) was an American economist, businessman, diplomat, and statesman who served in various positions under Presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. A member of the Republican Party, he is one of the only two persons to have held four different Cabinet-level posts, the other being Elliot Richardson. As United States Secretary of State, Shultz played a major role in shaping the foreign policy of the Reagan administration, and conservative foreign policy thought thereafter.
Born in New York City, Shultz graduated from Princeton University before serving in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. After the war, Shultz earned a Doctor of Philosophy in industrial economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He taught at MIT from 1948 to 1957, taking a leave of absence in 1955 to take a position on President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Council of Economic Advisers. After serving as dean of the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, he accepted President Nixon's appointment as United States Secretary of Labor.