SIMI VALLEY : Shultz Joins Reagan Foundation Board

Former Secretary of State George P. Shultz has joined the foundation board of trustees that raised $60 million to build the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library near Simi Valley, a Reagan spokeswoman announced Monday.

Shultz, a distinguished fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, accepted the board’s appointment last week and immediately began his six-year term, spokeswoman Cathy Goldberg said.

“I’ve always been able to count on George Shultz for his advice and assistance,” former President Reagan said in a statement. “He was a key member of my Administration, responsible for much of what we accomplished in our eight years in Washington. I am delighted that he has agreed to lend his talents to the library project.”

Martin Anderson, a former Reagan White House aide, said Shultz’s appointment should ease concerns about the leadership on the board that has completed the library but has yet to set up a conservative think tank on library grounds.

“My concerns are allayed,” Anderson said. “George Shultz is a man of sound judgment and wisdom. He will be a very powerful presence on the board.”

The board recently dumped Anderson and longtime Reagan associates Edwin Meese III and William P. Clark. Former Energy Secretary John S. Herrington resigned in protest over what some disgruntled loyalists called a purge orchestrated by Nancy Reagan. Reagan denies that his wife had anything to do with it.

In her published memoirs, “My Turn,” Nancy Reagan harshly criticized Meese and Clark, but had only kind words for Shultz. “George reminded me of a big teddy bear, but underneath that soft exterior was a tough negotiator with enormous energy. . . . I trusted George completely; if he said it was raining, I didn’t have to look out the window.”

Shultz could not be reached for comment but issued a statement saying he was delighted to be associated with the library’s effort to “preserve and portray” the Reagan legacy.