Charles Arthur Bowsher

former Comptroller General of the United States

Charles Arthur Bowsher (May 30, 1931 – September 30, 2022) was an American politician and businessman. He was the 6th Comptroller General of the United States from 1981 to 1996. He was born in Elkhart, Indiana.


Illustrated portrait and signature from a 1988 issue of GAO Journal magazine.

Raised in Chicago, Bowsher studied at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and at the University of Chicago. He was in the United States Army from 1950 to 1952 during the Korean War.

In 1956, he worked as an accountant and as a key business figure for Arthur Andersen & Co..

From 1967 to 1971, he was Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Financial Management and Comptroller) during the Lyndon B. Johnson presidency.[1]

Bowsher was nominated by President Ronald Reagan in 1981 and was Comptroller General for 15 years from 1981 to 1996. During that period, he led the Government Accountability Office during the savings and loan crisis and other major issues. With a term limit of fifteen years, Bowsher worked for the Reagan, Bush Sr. and Clinton presidencies.

In 1996, Bowsher was added to the Accounting Hall of Fame.[2] After civil service, he is the Chairman for the Board of Directors of the Concord Coalition.[1]

Bowsher died on September 30, 2022, at home in Bethesda, Maryland. He was 91 years old.[3]

References change

  1. 1.0 1.1 "About Us". Concord Coalition. Archived from the original on 2010-07-31. Retrieved 2010-08-16.
  2. "Membership, Accounting Hall of Fame". Ohio State University Fisher College of Business. Archived from the original on July 14, 2016. Retrieved September 30, 2010.
  3. Murphy, Brian (October 7, 2022). "Charles Bowsher, federal auditor during 1980s banking crisis, dies at 91". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 8, 2022.

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