Brady Becomes Treasury Chief, Vows to Push Reagan Policies

Nicholas F. Brady took the oath of office Friday as the nation’s 68th secretary of the Treasury, pledging to aggressively push Reagan Administration economic policies.

With his wife, Kitty, at his side in the ornate Roosevelt Room of the White House, Brady, 58, was sworn in by retired Supreme Court Justice Warren E. Burger.

The ceremony was hastily arranged so that Brady, who was confirmed Wednesday by the Senate, can begin work next week at a meeting in Berlin with international finance ministers.

Cites Prosperity

“Your leadership has produced the longest sustained period of prosperity in most Americans’ memories,” the Wall Street investment banker told President Reagan after finishing the oath-taking. “Not only have the economic statistics turned out to be right, but what is more important is that they have meant better lives for Americans.”

Brady, co-chairman of the Wall Street firm of Dillon Read & Co., headed the commission that Reagan set up last year to investigate the circumstances behind the Oct. 19 stock market crash. He also is a former New Jersey senator.

Brady said the Treasury Department under his leadership would “do its homework” to advance Reagan’s policies on taxes and spending.

He succeeds James A. Baker III, who left the post last month to become chairman of George Bush’s presidential campaign.

“I was always taught that the best loan that you could make was a character loan--one that looked beyond the hard numbers and took a leap of faith and counted on the character and strength of the individual involved,” Brady told Reagan.

‘Pick-and-Shovel Work’

“That principle applies to countries as well,” he said. “The Treasury Department will . . . do the pick-and-shovel work to make sure the numbers are right, but we will always be guided by your faith that character is at the root of all human endeavor.”

Reagan said he could “think of no one more qualified” for the Treasury secretary’s job.

“In an investment banking career that has spanned three decades, Nick Brady has earned the respect of the financial and economic communities for his integrity and professional accomplishments,” the President said.

“Secretary Brady will be chief economic spokesman for the Administration and I will be relying on him to continue our policies that have proved so successful,” Reagan added.