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.
Brady became the 68th Secretary of the Treasury on September 15, 1988, and served during the last four months of Reagan's presidency and throughout the Bush administration. In 1989, after a period of years in which a number of developing countries, including Mexico, defaulted on their international debt, he developed the Brady Plan to help them sell dollar-denominated bonds. These became known as Brady Bonds.
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, a Democratic congressman 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."[5]
He is a former chairman of the board of Dillon Read & Co. Inc. (investment banking) (1970–1988) and a former Chairman of Purolator, Inc. (filtration products) (1971–1987).
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. 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 Corporation, the MITRE Corporation, and the H.J. Heinz Company, among others. His father had been a major figure in Thoroughbredhorse racing both in the United States and in Europe. Although never involved with the sport at the same level as his father, Nicholas Brady served for a time as chairman of The Jockey Club. Mill House (Stable) is the nom de course for Brady's racing operation.[6]
Brady married his wife, the former Katherine Douglas (known as Kitty, daughter of Percy Livingston Douglas, president of the Otis Elevator Company) in 1952, and they had four children, Nicholas F. Brady Jr., Christopher Brady, Anthony Brady, and Katherine Cutler, known as Kim. She died on January 6, 2021 at age 89.[9]
^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."
