Appointment of Donald Ian Macdonald as Special Assistant to the President for Drug Abuse Policy and Director of the Drug Abuse Policy Office

The President today announced the appointment of Donald Ian Macdonald as Special Assistant to the President for Drug Abuse Policy and Director of the White House Drug Abuse Policy Office. Dr. Macdonald now serves as the Administrator of the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration (ADAMHA), Department of Health and Human Services. He will continue those duties on an interim basis pending the selection of a replacement.

Since 1984 Dr. Macdonald has been responsible for administering and coordinating Federal programs and activities to improve understanding, prevention, and treatment of alcohol, drug abuse, and mental health disorders. He also served as Acting Assistant Secretary for Health, heading the U.S. Public Health Service, from December 1985 to July 1986, and as one of four Presidential representatives of the Board of Governors of the American Red Cross. He is an Assistant Surgeon General, PHS Commissioned Corps, a rank equivalent to Navy rear admiral. Prior to joining the administration, Dr. Macdonald was a practicing pediatrician in Clearwater, FL, and a national leader in the parents movement against drug abuse. He also was clinical associate professor of pediatrics at the University of South Florida, College of Medicine, and an active member of the Florida Medical Association, serving as chairman of the association's committee on substance abuse. Dr. Macdonald has been affiliated with numerous professional and public organizations and groups. He served as president, Scientific Advisory Board, American Council on Drug Education; president, Florida Pediatric Society; board of directors, National Federation of Parents for Drug-Free Youth; and director of clinical research, Straight, Inc., an adolescent drug treatment program in St. Petersburg, FL. He is the author of numerous articles on substance abuse and related topics for both professional and lay audiences.

Dr. Macdonald is a graduate of Williams College in Williamstown, MA (1952), and Temple University medical school in Philadelphia (1958). He is married and has four children. He was born in New York City on April 15, 1931.