Donald Alexander (lawyer) explained

Donald Alexander
Office:Commissioner of Internal Revenue
Term Start:May 25, 1973
Term End:February 26, 1977
President:Richard Nixon
Predecessor:Johnnie Mac Walters
Successor:Jerome Kurtz
Birth Name:Donald Crichton Alexander
Birth Date:22 May 1921
Nationality:American
Alma Mater:Yale College
Harvard Law School
Occupation:Tax lawyer
Allegiance:United States
Branch:United States Army
Battles:World War II
Mawards:Bronze 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]

Notes and References

  1. News: Donald C. Alexander, 87, Who Resisted Nixon at I.R.S., Is Dead. David Cay. Johnston. The New York Times. 8 February 2009. 9 February 2009.