Eugene Patrick Foley was an American political strategist, government official, and author active during the mid-20th century. Born in 1928, Foley is best known for his public service career, which included serving as the Administrator of the Small Business Administration from 1963 to 1965. Following this role, he became the Assistant Secretary of Commerce in charge of the Economic Development Administration (EDA) in October 1965, a position he held for a year before departing from government service.
Foley's experiences in urban development and government administration informed his writing. He authored the 1968 book The Achieving Ghetto, which detailed his perspectives and work on economic development in urban areas. His efforts at the EDA during a turbulent period in American history were also documented in other contemporary works, such as Amory Bradford's Oakland's Not for Burning (1968). Foley's departure from the EDA in 1966 was prompted by shifting federal priorities, particularly as funding was redirected toward the Vietnam War.
Prior to his administrative appointments, Foley ran for the United States House of Representatives in Minnesota's 1st congressional district in 1958 as a Democratic-Farmer-Labor candidate, though he was unsuccessful. He passed away from natural causes in Whitefish, Montana, in 2015 at the age of 87.
