Henry Paulson, ex-chief executive of investment bank and Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs, has been sworn in as the new US Treasury Secretary.The 60-year-old Mr Paulson takes over from John Snow, who received mixed reviews for his time in the job.

Many of the problems Mr Snow had to deal with, a weakening US dollar and concerns over Chinese imports and the level of the yuan, still persist.

Mr Paulson said he would look to boost US economic growth and trade.

“We must always remember that the strength of the US economy is linked to the strength of the global economy,” Mr Paulson explained at his swearing in ceremony.

“If we retreat from the global stage, the void is likely to be filled by those who do not share our commitment to economic reform.”

Business background

Mr Paulson had been chairman and chief executive of Goldman Sachs since May 1999, when the bank went public.

Much of his time in recent years has been spent building relationships and business in China.

Goldman Sachs recently said that it will pay Mr Paulson an $18.7m (£10m) bonus based on the Wall Street firm’s performance in the first half of this year.

Mr Paulson resigned from Goldman Sachs at the end of June.

His nomination was backed by both Republicans and Democrats after earlier speeding through the Senate Finance Committee, and he is the third Treasury Secretary under US President George W Bush.

It is not his first time Mr Paulson has worked for the White House. He was a member of the domestic council as staff assistant to President Nixon in 1972.

Outside of the financial world he is reputed to be an avid nature lover, and is chairman of the board of the Nature Conservancy in the US.