DONALD REGAN

Regan, who had also served as Treasury secretary in Reagan's Cabinet, was forced from the White House in 1987 in the wake of the Iran-contra scandal. Fifteen months later, he published a memoir that disclosed the then-shocking news that Reagan's public schedule was determined in part by Nancy Reagan's astrologer.

Regan died of cancer at Williamsburg Community Hospital in Virginia, according to a spokesman for Merrill Lynch, the giant brokerage company he once headed.

"He was challenging and smart, and he had a great Irish sense of humor," said Ann McLaughlin Korologos, a top aide to Regan at Treasury who later served as Labor secretary. In recent years, she said, he and Nancy Reagan "kissed and made up, and that meant a lot to him."

Nancy Reagan issued a statement Tuesday praising Regan's service to the country and expressing sadness at his death.

Regan was born in Cambridge, Mass. He was a lieutenant colonel in the Marine Corps during World War II and later became CEO of Merrill Lynch. Reagan tapped him as Treasury secretary in 1981. Four years later, he traded jobs with James Baker to become chief of staff.

But Regan, accustomed to being the person in charge, often seemed ill-suited for a staff job. Nancy Reagan objected when he ordered a White House helicopter to fly him to the naval hospital at Bethesda, Md., to visit the president, who was undergoing cancer surgery. After she called, he decided to go by car.

During his tenure, the administration sold arms to Iran in hopes of winning the release of Americans held hostage in Lebanon, then funneled some profits to anti-communist contra rebels in Nicaragua. An investigative board found Regan responsible for failing to ensure an "orderly process" that would have prevented the deal.

"Does a bank president know whether a bank teller is fiddling around with the books?" Regan retorted. "No." But Reagan quickly replaced him.