Martin Anderson

Martin Anderson (August 5, 1936 – January 3, 2015) was an American academic, economist, author, policy analyst, and adviser to US politicians and presidents, including Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon. Under the Nixon administration, Anderson was credited with helping to end the military draft and creating the all-volunteer armed forces. Under Reagan, Anderson helped draft the administration’s original economic program that became known as “Reaganomics.” A political conservative and a strong proponent of free-market capitalism, he was influenced by libertarianism and opposed government regulations that limited individual freedom. Anderson wrote and edited numerous books on topics concerning urban renewal, military manpower, welfare reform, higher education, and his experiences advising Reagan and Nixon. Later he coedited four books on Reagan’s writings and coauthored two books on Reagan’s efforts to negotiate nuclear disarmament with the Soviet Union. Early life and education Martin Anderson was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, on August 5, 1936, the only child of Ralph and Evelyn Anderson, a dairy farmer and a nurse, respectively. In school he was a top student and student body president. In 1953 he was awarded a four-year scholarship to Dartmouth College to study engineering. He graduated in 1957 summa cum laude and remained at Dartmouth to pursue a double master’s degree in business and engineering through the Thayer School of Engineering and the Tuck School of Business. In 1958 Anderson met his future wife, Annelise Graebner; the two married in 1965. They shared an interest in conservative politics and had campaigned together for Barry Goldwater. Later they attended courses at the Nathaniel Branden Institute and became friends with novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand, and through Rand met economist Alan Greenspan. It was through Rand and Anderson's recommendation that Alan Greenspan began his career in government.