President of the Commonwealth.

James Tallon, Jr., president of the United Hospital Fund of New York, was recently elected chairman of The Commonwealth Fund, New York, N.Y. He takes office on Nov. 14, succeeding Samuel Thier, M.D., who has served as chairman since 2002.

Tallon has served as a director of the Fund since 1996, and is a member of its Executive and Finance Committee. A member of the New York State Assembly for 19 years, he served as chair of the Health Committee from 1979 to 1987 and as majority leader from 1987 to 1993.

More recently, Tallon headed New York Governor Eliot Spitzer's Health Care Policy Advisory Committee during the gubernatorial transition period in 2006.