Policy Development, Office of: Records, 1981-1989

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Assistant to the President for Policy Development was the highest position in the White House formulating, coordinating, implementing and advising the President on domestic policy some issues and some international policy issues, especially on economics. Martin Anderson (1981-1982), Edwin Harper (1982-1983), and John "Jack" Svahn (1983-1986) were appointed as Assistant to the President for 1981-1986. Svahn's successor was Gary Bauer (1987-1988) and then Franmarie Kennedy-Keel (1988-1989).

Anderson, Harper, and Svahn were commissioned White House Officers and were not line staff members of the White House. Because of their Assistant to the President status, all three were allowed to participate in political functions and were not subject to the Hatch Act. The responsibilities of the this position changed over the two Reagan Administrations. Martin Anderson oversaw the Office of Drug Abuse Policy and the Office of Policy Development. Edwin Harper and Jack Svahn oversaw the Office of Drug Abuse Policy, the Office of Planning and Evaluation (until it was shut down in late 1984), the Office of Policy Development, and the Office of Policy Information.

The Office of Policy Development was run by individual directors. Edwin Gray was the Director of the Office of Policy Development from 1981-1982 and Roger Porter was the Director of the Office of Policy Development from 1982-1987, under Harper and Svahn. Both Bauer and Kennedy-Keel had the title of Deputy Assistant to the President for Policy Development and had the dual post as Director of the Office of Policy Development.

In 1982, a suboffice of Policy Development was created called the Office of Policy Information. Edwin Gray was named as the Director of this office and he continued in this post through August 1982 when he returned to his position with Great American Federal Savings Bank in San Diego, California. Succeeding him was Kevin Hopkins. Both Gray and Hopkins had served in the 1980 Reagan-Bush campaign.

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SERIES I: SUBJECT FILE

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2025-11-14

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Policy Development, Office of: Records, 1981-1989

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