Diary Entry - 06/01/1987
Key Facts
President Reagan accepts the resignation of Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Paul Volcker.
President Reagan meets with Nina Shea of the Puebla Institute to discuss religious persecution under the Sandinista government in Nicaragua.
Staff meeting—nothing very important—discussed our upcoming AIDS Commission & who should be on it.
N.S.C.—Message from Nakasone—he’s desperate to have us do something about the sanctions we’ve imposed. I’m not sure we can do that before the Summit. Maybe things will work out so we can do it at the Summit—I hope so.
A visitor—Nina Shea. An attractive young blonde who looked like she should be in college. She is a lawyer & head of a group called the “Puebla Inst.” It is an org. to get the ugly truth out about the Sandinistas & their persecution of religion & the people of Nicaragua in general. She’s back from a trip there with a collection of horror stories & is leaving to go back down there.
Another visitor—Ambas. Perkins back for a visit from his post in So. Africa. An interesting report but not too optimistic about getting that govt. to adopt some reforms.
Then a happy event in the Rose Garden—150 grade school students who were the winners of a nation wide essay contest on the Constitution.
During my lunch Jim Baker & Howard B. came in about the Fed. Reserve Bd. situation. I’m meeting Paul Volcker at 3:30 P.M. to accept his resignation. In the meantime another Rose Garden event—the signing of a bill to make permanent the G.I. Bill of Rights.
Then a pre-ec. summit meeting—last briefing before we go. Later in the East Room I made an address—a pre-summit speech carried live on T.V. It was very well received. Then upstairs to meet with Paul V. Howard B. & Jim B. Paul gave me his resignation as Chmn. of Fed. Reserve Bd. We all agreed Alan Greenspan should be his replacement & we should all announce this to the press at 10 A.M. tomorrow.
I got a haircut—then phoned Alan Greenspan in N.Y. He said yes & he’ll be here tomorrow.
