Donald Alexander (lawyer)

Donald Alexander
Commissioner of Internal Revenue
In office
May 25, 1973 – February 26, 1977
PresidentRichard Nixon
Preceded byJohnnie Mac Walters
Succeeded byJerome Kurtz
Personal details
Born
Donald Crichton Alexander

(1921-05-22)May 22, 1921
DiedFebruary 2, 2009(2009-02-02) (aged 87)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materYale College
Harvard Law School
OccupationTax lawyer
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsBronze Star Medal
Silver Star

Donald Crichton Alexander (May 22, 1921 – February 2, 2009) was an American tax lawyer and Nixon administration official.[1]

Alexander was appointed Commissioner of Internal Revenue by President Richard Nixon in May 1973, and was replaced in February 1977, early in the Jimmy Carter administration.[1]

Alexander resisted attempts by Nixon to use the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to investigate Nixon's political enemies, resulting in a string of attempts by Nixon to fire him. Early on in his tenure as Commissioner, he dismantled the IRS Special Service Staff, which had been used to pursue detractors of the administration and its policies in Vietnam.[1]

Alexander served in the Army in World War II, receiving the Bronze Star and the Silver Star. After graduating Yale College and Harvard Law School, he began his career as a tax lawyer, which included positions at Covington & Burling and Akin Gump, where he worked at the time of his death.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Johnston, David Cay (8 February 2009). "Donald C. Alexander, 87, Who Resisted Nixon at I.R.S., Is Dead". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 February 2009.
Government offices
Preceded by
Raymond F. Harless
Acting
Commissioner of Internal Revenue
May 25, 1973 – February 26, 1977
Succeeded by
William E. Williams
Acting