Oral history interview with Adewale "Wally" Adeyemo, 2020
Abstract
Adewale "Wally" Adeyemo discusses his work in the Obama administration, in which he served as deputy executive secretary of the Treasury Department from 2009 to 2010, chief of staff of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) from 2010 to 2011, deputy chief of staff and senior advisor to the secretary of the treasury from 2011 to 2015, and deputy national security advisor for international e conomics and deputy director of the National Economic Council from 2015 to 2017. Adeyemo outlines the responsibilities and activities of each of his roles, and provides details about his experience of major issues, events, and policy processes with which he was closely involved, including the coordination of the international response to the global financial crisis; the standing-up and operations of the CFPB; the rebalancing of decision-making power in the International Monetary Fund; the negotiation of international trade agreements including the Trans-Pacific Partnership; the administration's use of economic and financial sanctions targeting Russia and Iran; and the administration's diplomatic efforts to bring the Paris Agreement into force. Adeyemo also reflects on the administration's approach to economic relations with China, the pace and intensity of work in the Treasury Department during the financial crisis, and his role supporting President Obama during his participation in global summits
Presidents--United States; Global Financial Crisis, 2008-2009--United States; Economic sanctions, American--Iran; Economic sanctions, American--Russia (Federation); United States Foreign economic relations China; Adeyemo, Adewale O., 1981-; Obama, Barack; International Monetary Fund; Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement ( 2016 February 4); United States. Department of the Treasury; United States. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Protocols, etc
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2020
Physical Description
90 pages
Note (Biographical)
Adewale "Wally" Adeyemo is a government official. Adeyemo joined the Obama administration in 2009 as deputy executive secretary of the Department of the Treasury. He served as chief of staff at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from 2010 to 201 1 and as deputy chief of staff and senior advisor at the Treasury Department from 2011 to 2015. In 2015, Adeyemo was appointed as deputy national security advisor for international economics and deputy director of the National Economic Council, where he served until the end of Obama’s second term in 2017. At the time of the interview, Adeyemo was the secretary of the treasury in the Biden administration
Note
Interviewed by Evan D. McCormick on September 30 and December 28, 2020. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Adewale "Wally" Adeyemo, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2023