U.S. Treasure Secretary Henry Paulson has become one of the most important people in the world. He is in charge of the project to prevent more banks and other financial institutions from collapsing, and in general to try to limit the economic crisis, which many believe could be very big indeed if governments (not just the U.S.) do not act (effectively).

Most people had never heard of him one week ago, now he has become a household name.  This raises the question: who is Paulson and how did he become the man in charge of the project to safe economies worldwide?

Paulson is one of America’s and thus of the world’s financial geniuses. He graduated from Harvard Business School – one of the most respected business schools in the world – with high grades, after which he started to work for Goldman Sachs. Goldman became famous in recent years because of its high ethics and success.

A major reason for its success was the more conservative approach of the people in charge of the bank. Unlike every other major American bank, Goldman did not allow itself to be dragged into the looming mortgage crisis. It continued to practice business as usual, instead of trying to make a quick buck.

This led Goldman to the position it is in now; it could very well end up being the only independent American bank. All the others will either have been nationalized, in effect, by the U.S. federal government or taken over by other banks.

Not so with Goldman. Goldman is one of the richest banks, due to its demand for excellence and the fact that it only has the best of the best working for it, but it is also one of the most traditional ones out there; when innovations are usefull Goldman uses it. When innovations are risky, Goldman continues traveling down the reliable path.

Paulson helped Goldman set up its first office in China after he had become a partner of the firm. In order to do so he had to travel to the communist country 75 times in a short amount of time. This not only helped him improve his business skills, it also helped him understand Chinese (business) culture. Something that will prove very usefull in the coming years.

When he got out of Goldman – after having a very successful career – his stake in the firm was worth an estimated $500 million.

Unlike most ‘new bankers,’ however, working for other institutions – most of which collapsed by now, others that will have to be safed in the future and if they are not they too will go down – Paulson does not show how rich he truly is. He adheres to the Goldman ethos of ‘make a lot of money, but don’t show it.’ Instead of wearing a Rolex, for instance, Paulson wears a digital training watch.

He is a Republicans, and has always been one, but he’s not partisan. No one working for Goldman can be a partisan hack; the firm has Democrats and Republicans working for it, and when these people get out of the firm, they often start working for ‘their’ party. He’s a Republican, but not the ‘DeLay’ kind; he’s one of those old, reliable Rockefeller Republicans who are able and willing to reach out to Democrats in an attempt to find solutions for shared problems. This ‘Rockefeller’ kind of Republican is similar to what Europeans view as ‘conservative.’

This also means he may be less inclined to preach the values of small government at a time when government intervention is needed, as it is now. Although a firm believer in capitalism, and in the free market, Paulson realizes that the market too can sometimes screw things up, and needs to be corrected by the government.

He is a hardworker, unlike most others in Washington, who wants others to work in the weekends in times of crises as well. The staff dining room at Treasury has remained open on weekends this month, with a buffet of tuna-fish and peanut-butter sandwiches.

To make matters even worse, Paulson is a man who does not use e-mail. Instead he prefers to call people – that old fashioned 19-century invention the telephone is constantly used by the US Treasury Secretary. Unlike most others on Capitol Hill, Paulson does not do small talk. He gets down to business immediately.

In short, he’s the right man, at the right place, at the right time.

Not everyone is happy with him though. The most strong opposition to him and his approach to work does not come from Democrats, but from ‘DeLay conservatives’ who criticize him for ‘bailing out’ companies, and for failing to reduce the size of the government. The criticism is not rooted in pragmatical considerations, but in ideological ones.

It seems that Paulson is exactly the kind of man the U.S. and the world as a whole need; a doer, who is not interested in playing politics.

Interesting, by the way, that of the people George W. surrounded himself with in his second term most are not partisans. Robert Gates and Henry Paulson are just two examples of the type of Republican that became important during Bush’s second term. Another name is, of course, Condoleezza Rice; she was already part of the Bush administration, but she became more important for Bush during his second term – she too is generally considered to be more of a realist than an ideologue.