Lawrence "Larry" Henry Summers, born on November 30, 1954, is an American economist with a long and influential career in academia and public service. He served as the 71st United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Bill Clinton from 1999 to 2001 and later as the Director of the National Economic Council under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2010. He was also the 27th president of Harvard University from 2001 to 2006. Currently, Summers is the Charles W. Eliot University Professor at Harvard Kennedy School.
Summers is known for his contributions to various fields of economics, including public finance, labor economics, financial economics, and macroeconomics. He was awarded the John Bates Clark Medal in 1993 and the Alan T. Waterman Award in 1987. His career has involved advising businesses and investors and serving on several boards in the finance and technology sectors. In November 2025, Summers stepped back from public commitments, including his role as director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, following the release of documents detailing his communications with Jeffrey Epstein. He also resigned from the board of OpenAI. The American Economic Association (AEA) has imposed a lifetime ban on his membership.
