Joseph Walker Barr (January 17, 1918 – February 23, 1996) was an American businessman and politician from Indiana. He served one term in the United States House of Representatives from 1959 to 1961. He was also briefly the United States Secretary of the Treasury from December 21, 1968, until January 20, 1969, in President Lyndon B. Johnson's cabinet. He was a member of the Democratic Party.
Early life and career
Barr was born in Vincennes, Indiana, on January 17, 1918, the son of Oscar Lynn Barr and Stella Florence Walker. He graduated from DePauw University, and married the former Beth Ann Williston in Indianapolis on September 3, 1939; they had five children: Bonnie Barr Gilliom, Cherry Ann Barr, Joseph Williston Barr, Elizabeth Eugenia Barr LoSasso and Lynn Hamilton Barr Fineberg. He was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity and earned a master's degree in economics from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1941. During his time in the House, he became friends with then-Senator John F. Kennedy. He served only one term before being defeated for re-election in 1960. In 1963, he was appointed Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. His 30 days in the position was the shortest term of any Treasury Secretary. Given his short period in office, his signature appears only on the one-dollar bill.
Later years
After leaving office, he was named as the vice chairman of American Security and Trust Company. He then served as the president and the chairman from 1969 to 1974 and the chairman of Federal Home Loan Bank in Atlanta, Georgia from 1977 to 1981.