Clark Clifford
9th United States Secretary of Defense
In office January 19, 1968 – January 20, 1969
Preceded by	Robert McNamara
Succeeded by	Melvin Laird
Born	December 25, 1906 Fort Scott, KS, USA
Died	October 10, 1998
Political party	Democratic
Profession	Lawyer Political adviser

Clark McAdams Clifford (December 25, 1906 – October 10, 1998) was a highly influential American lawyer who served Presidents Truman, Kennedy, Johnson and Carter, serving as Secretary of Defense for Johnson. Image File history File links Clifford2list. ... The United States Secretary of Defense is the head of the United States Department of Defense (DoD), concerned with the armed services and The role of the Secretary of Defense is to be the principal defense policy advisor to the President and is responsible for the formulation of general defense... January 19 is the 19th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday. ... January 20 is the 20th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Stargate SG-1 episode, see 1969 (Stargate SG-1). ... Robert Strange McNamara (born June 9, 1916) was an American business executive and a former United States Secretary of Defense. ... Melvin Robert Laird (born September 1, 1922) was a Republican congressman from Wisconsin who served as Richard Nixons Secretary of Defense from 1969 to 1973. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Fort Scott is a city located 88 miles (158 km) south of Kansas City, on the Marmaton River. ... Official language(s) none Capital Topeka Largest city Wichita Area  Ranked 15th  - Total 82,277 sq mi (213,096 km²)  - Width 211 miles (340 km)  - Length 417 miles (645 km)  - % water 0. ... The Democratic Party is one of two major political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. ... English barrister 16th century painting of a civil law notary, by Flemish painter Quentin Massys. ... December 25 is the 359th day of the year (360th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 6 days remaining in the year. ... 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... October 10 is the 283rd day of the year (284th in leap years). ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean [1]. // Coated in ice, power and telephone lines sag and often break, resulting in power outages. ... English barrister 16th century painting of a civil law notary, by Flemish painter Quentin Massys. ... President Truman announces that Germany had surrendered (May 8 1945) Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884 – December 26, 1972) was the thirty-third President of the United States (1945–1953); as Vice President, he succeeded to the office upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. ... This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling. ... “LBJ” redirects here. ... This article is becoming very long. ... The United States Secretary of Defense is the head of the United States Department of Defense, concerned with the armed services and The Secretary is a member of the Presidents Cabinet. ...

Early life and career

Clifford was born in Fort Scott, Kansas. He attended college and law school at Washington University, and built a solid reputation practicing law in St. Louis, Missouri between 1928 and 1943. He served as an officer with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946, reaching the rank of captain and serving as assistant naval aide and then naval aide to President Truman, for whom he became a very trusted personal adviser and friend. Fort Scott is a city located 88 miles (158 km) south of Kansas City, on the Marmaton River. ... Washington University in St. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The United States Navy, also known as the USN or the U.S. Navy, is a branch of the United States armed forces responsible for conducting naval operations. ...

Truman Advisor

Clifford went to Washington first to serve as Assistant to the President's Naval Advisor, after the naming of a personal friend from Missouri as the President's Naval Advisor. Following his discharge from the Navy, he remained at Truman's side as White House Counsel from 1946-1950, as Truman came rapidly to trust and rely on Clifford. The White House Counsel is a staff appointee of the President of the United States. ...

Clifford was a key architect of Truman's campaign in 1948, when he pulled off a stunning upset victory over Republican nominee Thomas Dewey. Clifford encouraged Truman to embrace a left wing populist image in hope of undermining the impact on the race of third party Progressive candidate Henry A. Wallace. He also believed that a strong pro-civil rights stance, while sure to alienate traditional Southern Democrats, would not result in a serious challenge to the party's supremacy in that region. This prediction was foiled by Strom Thurmond's candidacy as a splinter States' Rights Democrat, but Clifford's strategy nonetheless helped win Truman election in his own right and establish the Democratic Party's position in the Civil Rights Movement. Thomas Dewey Thomas Edmund Dewey (March 24, 1902 – March 16, 1971) was the Governor of New York (1943-1955) and the unsuccessful Republican candidate for the U.S. Presidency in 1944 and 1948. ... Populism is a political ideology or rhetorical style that holds that the common person is oppressed by the elite in society, which exists only to serve its own interests, and therefore, the instruments of the State need to be grasped from this self-serving elite and instead used for the... Henry Agard Wallace (October 7, 1888 – November 18, 1965) was the 33rd Vice President of the United States (1941–45), the 11th Secretary of Agriculture (1933–40), and the 10th Secretary of Commerce (1945–46). ... James Strom Thurmond (December 5, 1902 – June 26, 2003) was an American politician who served as governor of South Carolina and as a United States Senator representing that state. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

A Man of Influence

After leaving the government in 1950, Clifford practiced law in Washington, but continued to advise Democratic leaders. One of his law clients was Sen. John F. Kennedy, and Clifford tried to assuage Truman's suspicion of Kennedy and his father, Joseph P. Kennedy. In 1960, Clifford was a member of President-elect John F. Kennedy's Committee on the Defense Establishment, headed by Stuart Symington. In May 1961, Kennedy appointed Clifford to the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, which he chaired beginning in April 1963. After President Lyndon B. Johnson took office in November 1963 following Kennedy's assassination, Clifford served frequently as an unofficial counselor and sometimes undertook short-term official duties, including a trip with General Maxwell Taylor in 1967 to Vietnam and other countries in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling. ... Joseph Joe Patrick Kennedy, Sr. ... This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling. ... William Stuart Symington William Stuart Symington (June 26, 1901–December 14, 1988) was a U.S. businessman and political figure. ... The Presidents Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (PFIAB) is part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States. ... “LBJ” redirects here. ... General Maxwell Davenport Taylor (August 26, 1901 – April 19, 1987) was an American soldier and diplomat of the mid-20th century. ...

Secretary of Defense

On January 19, 1968, President Johnson announced his selection of Clifford to succeed Robert McNamara as United States Secretary of Defense. Clifford estimated that, in the year just prior to his appointment, he had spent about half of his time advising the President and the other half working for his law firm. January 19 is the 19th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday. ... Robert Strange McNamara (born June 9, 1916) was an American business executive and a former United States Secretary of Defense. ... The United States Secretary of Defense is the head of the United States Department of Defense (DoD), concerned with the armed services and The role of the Secretary of Defense is to be the principal defense policy advisor to the President and is responsible for the formulation of general defense...

Widely known and respected in Washington and knowledgeable on defense matters, Clifford was generally hailed as a worthy successor to McNamara. Many regarded the new secretary as more of a hawk on Vietnam than McNamara and thought his selection might presage an escalation of the U.S. military effort there. Clifford attempted to allay such fears when, responding to a query about whether he was a hawk (favoring aggressive military action) or a dove (favoring a peaceful resolution to the Vietnam War), he remarked, "I am not conscious of falling under any of those ornithological divisions." Image File history File links Young_clark_clifford. ... Image File history File links Young_clark_clifford. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000...

The new Secretary did not change the management system McNamara installed at The Pentagon, and for the most part assigned internal administration to Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul H. Nitze. Clifford made no effort to depart from McNamara's policies and programs on such matters as nuclear strategy, NATO, and military assistance, but he favored the Sentinel Anti-ballistic missile system, to which McNamara had given only lukewarm backing. Clifford wanted to deploy the system, and supported congressional appropriations for it. One important effect of Sentinel construction, he thought, would be to encourage the Soviet Union to enter arms control talks with the United States. Indeed, before Clifford left office, the Johnson administration made arrangements for negotiations that eventually led to the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty of 1972. This article is about the U.S. military building. ... The United States Deputy Secretary of Defense is the second-highest ranking official in the United States Department of Defense. ... Paul Henry Nitze (January 16, 1907 - October 19, 2004) was a high-ranking United States government official who helped shape Cold War defense policy over the course of numerous presidential administrations. ... An anti-ballistic missile (ABM) is a missile designed to counter ballistic missiles. ... An anti-ballistic missile (ABM) is a missile designed to counter ballistic missiles. ... The Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM treaty or ABMT) was a treaty between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the limitation of the anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems used in defending areas against missile-delivered nuclear weapons. ...

Clifford continued McNamara's highly-publicized Cost Reduction Program, announcing that over $1.2 billion had been saved in FY 1968 as a result of the effort. Faced with a congressionally-mandated reduction of expenditures in FY 1969, Clifford suspended the planned activation of an infantry division and deactivated 50 small ships, 9 naval air squadrons, and 23 Nike-Hercules missile launch sites. Nike Hercules is the designation of an American air defense rocket. ...

By the time Clifford became secretary, Defense Department work on the FY 1969 budget was complete. It amounted in total obligational authority to $77.7 billion, almost $3 billion more than in FY 1968. The final FY 1970 budget, which Clifford and his staff worked on before they left office after the election of Richard M. Nixon to the Presidency, amounted to $75.5 billion TOA. Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. ...

Vietnam

Clifford took office committed to rethinking President Johnson's Vietnam policies, and Vietnam policy consumed most of his time. He had argued against escalation in 1965 in private counsel with the President, but then provided public support for the President's position once the decision was made. At his confirmation hearing, he told the Armed Services Committee of the United States Senate that the limited objective of the United States was to guarantee to the people of South Vietnam the right of self-determination. He opposed ending the U.S. bombing of North Vietnam at the time, but acknowledged that the situation could change. In fact, on March 31, 1968, just a month after Clifford arrived at the Pentagon, President Johnson, in an effort to get peace talks started, ordered the cessation of bombing north of the 20th parallel, an area comprising almost 80 percent of North Vietnam's land area and 90 percent of its population. In the same address, Johnson announced that he would not be a candidate for reelection in 1968, surprising everyone, Clifford included. Soon the North Vietnamese agreed to negotiations, which began in Paris in mid-May 1968. Later, on October 31, 1968, to encourage the success of these talks, the President, with Clifford's strong support, ordered an end to all bombing in North Vietnam. Armed Services Committee could refer to: U.S. House Committee on Armed Services U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Seal of the U.S. Senate Federal courts Supreme Court Chief Justice Associate Justices Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures State Courts Counties, Cities, and Towns Other countries Politics Portal      Senate composition following 2006 elections The United States Senate is... Official language Vietnamese Capital Saigon Last President Duong Van Minh Last Prime Minister Vu Van Mau Area  - Total  - % water 173,809 km² N/A Population  - Total  - Density 19,370,000 (1973 est. ... The Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRVN), or less commonly, Vietnamese Democratic Republic (Vietnamese: Việt Nam Dân Chủ Cá»™ng Hòa), also known as North Vietnam, was proclaimed by Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi, September 2nd1945 and was recognized by the Peoples Republic of China and the... March 31 is the 90th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (91st in leap years), with 275 days remaining. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday. ... This article is about the U.S. military building. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Paris Eiffel tower as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ... October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 61 days remaining. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday. ...

Clifford, like McNamara, had to deal with frequent requests for additional troops from military commanders in Vietnam. When he became secretary, the authorized force in Vietnam was 525,000. Soon after moving into his Pentagon office, Clifford persuaded Johnson to deny General William Westmoreland's request for an additional 206,000 American troops in Vietnam. General William Westmoreland William Childs Westmoreland (March 26, 1914 – July 18, 2005) was a U.S. Army General who commanded American military operations in the Vietnam War at its peak from 1964 to 1968 and who served as US Army Chief of Staff from 1968 to 1972. ...

At the end of March 1968, however, the president agreed to send 24,500 more troops on an emergency basis, raising authorized strength to 549,500, a figure never reached. Even as he oversaw a continued buildup, Clifford preferred to emphasize the points President Johnson had made in his March 31, 1968 address: that the South Vietnamese army could take over a greater share of the fighting, that the administration would place an absolute limit on the number of U.S. troops in Vietnam, and that it would take steps, including the bombing restrictions, to reduce the combat level. March 31 is the 90th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (91st in leap years), with 275 days remaining. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday. ...

Eventually Clifford moved very close, with Johnson's tacit support, to the views McNamara held on Vietnam just before he left office -- no further increases in U.S. troop levels, support for the bombing halt, and gradual disengagement from the conflict. By this time Clifford clearly disagreed with Secretary of State Dean Rusk, who believed, according to The Washington Post, "that the war was being won by the allies" and that it "would be won if America had the will to win it." After he left office, Clifford, in the July 1969 issue of Foreign Affairs, made his views very clear: "Nothing we might do could be so beneficial . . . as to begin to withdraw our combat troops. Moreover . . . we cannot realistically expect to achieve anything more through our military force, and the time has come to begin to disengage. That was my final conclusion as I left the Pentagon...." Clifford received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Johnson on the President's last day in office, January 20, 1969. David Dean Rusk (February 9, 1909 – December 20, 1994) was the United States Secretary of State from 1961 to 1969 under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. ... The Washington Post is the largest newspaper in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. ... This article is about a journal. ... The Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is one of the two highest civilian awards in the United States and is bestowed by the President of the United States (the other major civilian award which is considered its equivalent is the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor, which... January 20 is the 20th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Stargate SG-1 episode, see 1969 (Stargate SG-1). ...

Although the Johnson Administration ended under the cloud of the Vietnam War, Clifford concluded his short term as Secretary of Defense with his reputation actually enhanced. He got along well with the United States Congress, and this helped him to secure approval of at least some of his proposals. He settled into his duties quickly and efficiently, and capably managed the initial de-escalation of U.S. involvement in Vietnam; indeed, he apparently strongly influenced Johnson in favor of a de-escalation strategy. As he left office to return to his law practice in Washington, Clifford expressed the hope and expectation that international tensions would abate, citing the shift in the Vietnam confrontation from the battlefield to the conference table, and the evident willingness of the Soviet Union to discuss limitations on strategic nuclear weapons. Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000... Type Bicameral Houses Senate House of Representatives United States Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D since January 4, 2007 Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D since January 4, 2007 Members 535 plus 4 Delegates and 1 Resident Commissioner Political groups (as of November 7, 2006 elections) Democratic Party Republican... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 km (11 mi) above the epicenter. ...

Special presidential emissary to India

Clifford's legal practice and lobbying work made him wealthy, and he was considered one of Washington's "superlawyers" due to the reach of his influence and seemingly limitless connections. Clifford's office overlooked the White House, emphasizing his long experience in the capital. Clifford was renowned for his seemingly-effortless charm, style, tact and discretion. For other uses, see White House (disambiguation). ...

In 1980, President Jimmy Carter appointed him as special presidential emissary to India. Clifford made waves by threatening the newly-established regime of Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran with war for its intransigence in negotiating the release of the hostages seized from the U.S. embassy in Tehran. This article is becoming very long. ... Ayatollah Khomeini founded the first modern Islamic republic Ayatollah Seyyed Ruhollah Khomeini (آیت‌الله روح‌الله خمینی in Persian) (May 17, 1900 – June 3, 1989) was an Iranian Shia cleric and the political... Look up war in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A diplomatic mission is a group of people from one nation state present in another nation state to represent the sending state in the receiving State. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

Bank of Credit and Commerce International

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Bank of Credit and Commerce International. (Discuss)

In 1991, Clifford's memoirs Counsel to the President (co-authored with Richard Holbrooke, later U.S. ambassador to the United Nations) were published just as his name was implicated in the unfolding Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) scandal. The scandal focused on the criminal conduct of the international bank and its control of financial institutions nationwide, and was found by regulators in the United States and the United Kingdom to be involved in money laundering, bribery, support of terrorism, arms trafficking, the sale of nuclear technologies, the commission and facilitation of tax evasion, smuggling, illegal immigration, and the illicit purchases of banks and real estate. The bank was found to have at least $13 billion unaccounted for. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... BCCI in London was closed by the Bank of England in 1991 after evidence emerged of fraud and money laundering. ... The foundation of the U.N. The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress and human rights issues. ... BCCI in London was closed by the Bank of England in 1991 after evidence emerged of fraud and money laundering. ...

Clifford served as chairman of First American Bankshares, which grew to become the largest bank in Washington, D.C.. Robert Morgenthau, the district attorney of Manhattan, disclosed that his office had found evidence that the parent company of Clifford's bank was secretly controlled by BCCI. Morgenthau convened a grand jury to determine whether Clifford and his partner, Robert A. Altman, had deliberately misled federal regulators when the two men assured them that BCCI would have no outside control. Nickname: Motto: Justitia Omnibus (=Justice for All) Location of Washington, D.C., in relation to the states Maryland and Virginia Coordinates: Country United States Federal District District of Columbia Government  - Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D)  - City Council Chairperson: Vincent C. Gray (D) Ward 1: Jim Graham (D) Ward 2: Jack... Robert M. Morgenthau Robert Morris Morgenthau (born July 31, 1919 in New York City) is currently the District Attorney for New York County. ... A district attorney is, in some U.S. jurisdictions, the title of the local public official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminals. ... Manhattan is a borough of New York City, USA, coterminous with New York County. ... A grand jury is a type of jury, in the common law legal system, which determines if there is enough evidence for a trial. ... Robert A. Altman is Chairman and CEO of ZeniMax Media, parent company of Bethesda Softworks, LLC. He is married to actress Lynda Carter. ...

Clifford's predicament worsened when it was disclosed he had made about $6 million in profits from bank stock that he bought with an unsecured loan from BCCI. The grand jury handed up indictments, and the U.S. Justice Department opened its own investigation. Clifford's assets in New York, where he kept most of his investments, were frozen. Profit is what is gained, after costs are accounted for. ... Unsecured loans are loans that are not guaranteed with any asset, so that the risk of repossession does not exist. ... In the common law legal system, an indictment (IPA: ) is a formal charge of having committed a most serious criminal offense. ... The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is a Cabinet department in the United States government designed to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans. ...

At this time the issue of Clifford's nephew, Mark-John Clifford being involved in the fraud was being researched. The prosecution felt that Clifford's nephew had access to all of his accounts and acted as his financial advisor in all investment and banking relations. Mark-John Clifford, CEO and President of International Investment Group Ltd. would never be prosecuted but he was always considered to be part of the fraud.

The "Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the United States Senate," prepared by U.S. senators John Kerry and Hank Brown, noted that a key strategy of "BCCI's successful secret acquisitions of U.S. banks in the face of regulatory suspicion was its aggressive use of a series of prominent Americans," Clifford among them [1]. Clifford, who prided himself on decades of meticulously ethical conduct, summed his predicament up when he sadly told a reporter from the New York Times, "I have a choice of either seeming stupid or venal." Most observers believed the former, and concluded that Clifford had not paid sufficiently close attention to the bank or its management structure. Al Gore (born December 11, 1943) is a Vietnam Veteran and the junior United States Senator from Massachusetts. ... George Hanks (Hank) Brown (1940-) was a Republican politician and Senator from Colorado. ...

Indictments against Clifford were set aside because of his failing health. After a final, frail appearance in the 1997 PBS documentary Truman, Clifford died in 1998 from natural causes at age 91. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia. Not to be confused with Public Broadcasting Services in Malta. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean [1]. // Coated in ice, power and telephone lines sag and often break, resulting in power outages. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Arlington County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia (which calls itself a commonwealth), directly across the Potomac River from Washington, DC. By an act of Congress July 9, 1846, the area south of the Potomac was returned to Virginia effective in 1847 As of 2000...

Dramatic Portrayals

• Tony Goldwyn portrayed Clark M. Clifford in the 1995 HBO movie "Truman."
• Donald Sutherland portrayed Clifford in the 2002 HBO movie "Path to War."

Anthony Howard Goldwyn (born May 20, 1960 in Los Angeles, California) is an American actor. ... HBO (Home Box Office) is an American premium cable television network. ... Truman is a 1995 HBO movie starring Gary Sinise as Harry S. Truman. ... For other persons named Donald Sutherland, see Donald Sutherland (disambiguation). ... HBO (Home Box Office) is an American premium cable television network. ... // Plot Production Featured cast Awards and nominations Official site External links Categories: | | | | | | | ...

External links

• Oral History Interviews with Clark M. Clifford, Truman Presidential Library
• Transcript, Clark M. Clifford Oral History Interview, 3/13/69, by Joe B. Frantz, Internet Copy, LBJ Library. Accessed 3 April 2005.
• Interview about the Berlin Blockade for the WGBH series, War and Peace in the Nuclear Age

v • d • e

United States Secretaries of Defense

Forrestal • Johnson • Marshall • Lovett • Wilson • McElroy • T Gates • McNamara • Clifford • Laird • Richardson • Schlesinger • Rumsfeld • Brown • Weinberger • Carlucci • Cheney • Aspin • Perry • Cohen • Rumsfeld • R Gates April 3 is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 272 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Robert Strange McNamara (born June 9, 1916) was an American business executive and a former United States Secretary of Defense. ... The United States Secretary of Defense is the head of the United States Department of Defense (DoD), concerned with the armed services and The role of the Secretary of Defense is to be the principal defense policy advisor to the President and is responsible for the formulation of general defense... Melvin Robert Laird (born September 1, 1922) was a Republican congressman from Wisconsin who served as Richard Nixons Secretary of Defense from 1969 to 1973. ... Samuel Irving Rosenman (1896 - 1973) was a U.S. lawyer. ... The White House Counsel is a staff appointee of the President of the United States. ... There have been a number of notable people named Charles Murphy: Charles Francis Murphy, an American political figure who was leader of Tammany Hall from 1902-1924. ... Image File history File links United_States_Department_of_Defense_Seal. ... The United States Secretary of Defense is the head of the United States Department of Defense (DoD), concerned with the armed services and The role of the Secretary of Defense is to be the principal defense policy advisor to the President and is responsible for the formulation of general defense... James Vincent Forrestal (February 15, 1892 – May 22, 1949) was a Secretary of the Navy and the first United States Secretary of Defense. ... Louis Arthur Johnson (January 10, 1891 - April 24, 1966) was the second United States Secretary of Defense, serving in the cabinet of President Harry S. Truman from March 28, 1949 to September 19, 1950. ... For other persons named George Marshall, see George Marshall (disambiguation). ... Robert A. Lovett Robert Abercrombie Lovett (14 September 1895 - 7 May 1986) was the fourth United States Secretary of Defense, serving in the cabinet of President Harry S. Truman from 1951 to 1953 and in this capacity, directed the Korean War. ... Charles Erwin Wilson (July 18, 1890 - September 26, 1961), American businessman and politician, was United States Secretary of Defense from 1953 to 1957 under President Eisenhower. ... Neil Hosler McElroy (30 October 1904 - 30 November 1972) was United States Secretary of Defense from 1957 to 1959 under President Eisenhower. ... Thomas Sovereign Gates Jr. ... Robert Strange McNamara (born June 9, 1916) was an American business executive and a former United States Secretary of Defense. ... Melvin Laird Melvin Robert (Bam) Laird was born September 1, 1922 and nicknamed Bambino (shortened to Bam and pronounced like the word bomb) by his mother. ... Elliot Lee Richardson (July 20, 1920 – December 31, 1999) was an American lawyer and politician who was a member of the cabinet of Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. ... James Rodney Schlesinger (born February 15, 1929) was United States Secretary of Defense from 1973 to 1975 under presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. ... Donald Henry Rumsfeld (born July 9, 1932) is a U.S. politician and businessman, who was the 13th Secretary of Defense under President Gerald Ford from 1975–1977, and the 21st Secretary of Defense under President George W. Bush from 2001–2006. ... Harold Brown (born September 19, 1927), American scientist, was U.S. Secretary of Defense from 1977 to 1981 in the cabinet of President Jimmy Carter. ... Caspar Willard Cap Weinberger, GBE (August 18, 1917 – March 28, 2006), was an American politician and Secretary of Defense under President Ronald Reagan from January 21, 1981, until November 23, 1987, making him the third longest-serving defense secretary to date, after Robert McNamara and Donald Rumsfeld. ... Frank Carlucci Frank Charles Carlucci III (born October 18, 1930) was a government official in the United States, associated with the Republican Party. ... Richard Bruce Dick Cheney (born January 30, 1941), is the 46th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President George W. Bush. ... Leslie Les Aspin, Jr. ... Secretary of Defense William Perry talks to reporters at Kigali Airport, Rwanda after his arrival to check on status of the relief operation, 1994. ... William Sebastian Cohen (1940- ) is an author and American politician from the U.S. state of Maine. ... Donald Henry Rumsfeld (born July 9, 1932) is a U.S. politician and businessman, who was the 13th Secretary of Defense under President Gerald Ford from 1975–1977, and the 21st Secretary of Defense under President George W. Bush from 2001–2006. ... Robert Michael Gates, Ph. ...