Donald Rumsfeld

Template:TOC-right Donald H. Rumsfeld was both the youngest person to serve as U.S. Secretary of Defense, in the Administration (1975-1977), and the oldest, in the George W. Bush Administration (2001-2008). He was among the most active and controversial Secretaries, especially directing the U.S. military after the 9-11 attack. After the 2008 Presidential election, he was replaced by his deputy, Robert Gates, who has continued as secretary in the Obama Administration.

Bush Administration

As Secretary of Defense, he was, with the President, the National Command Authority, in the direct line of command for to the Unified Combatant Commands created by the Goldwater-Nichols Act.

Strategic view

Before taking office, Rumsfeld had recommended regime change in Iraq.

9-11 attack

Rumsfeld was in the Pentagon Building when it was hit by American Airlines Flight 77.

Transformation

One of his major thrusts was making the military smaller, lighter and more flexible, within a general framework that has been called the "revolution in military affairs", or, in his preferred term, "transformation". Some of his reforms were effective and some were not.

“put special emphasis on the importance of more horizontal, decentralized structures that share and leverage the information necessary for effective and timely decision-making, as opposed to the bureaucratic stovepiping that dominated U.S. national security institutions during the Cold War

Industry

From 1977 to 1985 he served as Chief Executive Officer, President, and then Chairman of G.D. Searle & Co., a worldwide pharmaceutical company. The successful turnaround there earned him awards as the Outstanding Chief Executive Officer in the Pharmaceutical Industry from the Wall Street Transcript (1980) and Financial World (1981). From 1985 to 1990 he was in private business.

Mr. Rumsfeld served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of General Instrument Corporation from 1990 to 1993. General Instrument Corporation was a leader in broadband transmission, distribution, and access control technologies. Until being sworn in as the 21st Secretary of Defense, Mr. Rumsfeld served as Chairman of the Board of Gilead Sciences, Inc., a pharmaceutical company.

Advisory roles

Before returning for his second tour as Secretary of Defense, Mr. Rumsfeld chaired the bipartisan U.S. Ballistic Missile Threat Commission, in 1998, and the U.S. Commission to Assess National Security Space Management and Organization, in 2000.

During his business career, Mr. Rumsfeld continued his public service in a variety of Federal posts, including:

• Member of the President's General Advisory Committee on Arms Control (1982 - 1986);
• Special Presidential Envoy on the Law of the Sea Treaty (1982 - 1983);
• Senior Advisor to the President's Panel on Strategic Systems (1983 - 1984);
• Member of the U.S. Joint Advisory Commission on U.S./Japan Relations (1983 - 1984);
• Special Presidential Envoy to the Middle East (1983 - 1984);
• Member of the National Commission on Public Service (1987 - 1990);
• Member of the National Economic Commission (1988 - 1989);
• Member of the Board of Visitors of the National Defense University (1988 - 1992);
• Member of the Commission on U.S./Japan Relations (1989 - 1991); and
• Member of the U.S. Trade Deficit Review Commission (1999 - 2000).

Civic roles

While in the private sector, Mr. Rumsfeld's civic activities included service as a member of the National Academy of Public Administration and a member of the boards of trustees of the Gerald R. Ford Foundation, the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, and the National Park Foundation, and as Chairman of the Eisenhower Exchange Fellowships, Inc.

Ford Administration

In August 1974, he was called back to Washington, DC, to serve as Chairman of the transition to the Presidency of Gerald R. Ford. He then became Chief of Staff of the White House and a member of the President's Cabinet (1974-1975). He served as the 13th U.S. Secretary of Defense, the youngest in the country's history (1975-1977). In 1977, Mr. Rumsfeld was awarded the nation's highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Entry to politics

He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois in 1962, at the age of 30, and was re-elected in 1964, 1966, and 1968.

Mr. Rumsfeld resigned from Congress in 1969 during his fourth term to join the Nixon Administration. From 1969 to 1970, he served as Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity and Assistant to the President.

From 1971 to 1972, he was Counsellor to the President and Director of the Economic Stabilization Program. In 1973, he left Washington, DC, to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Brussels, Belgium (1973-1974).

Early career

He attended Princeton University on academic and NROTC scholarships (A.B., 1954) and served in the U.S. Navy (1954-57) as an aviator and flight instructor on the S-2 Tracker maritime patrol aircraft. In 1957, he transferred to the Ready Reserve and continued his Naval service in flying and administrative assignments as a drilling reservist until 1975. He transferred to the Standby Reserve when he became Secretary of Defense in 1975 and to the Retired Reserve with the rank of Captain in 1989.

In 1957, he came to Washington, DC to serve as Administrative Assistant to a Congressman, and then worked in investment banking.