Harry Robbins ("Bob") Haldeman (October 27, 1926 - November 12, 1993) was a U.S. political aide and businessman, best known for his service in the Nixon White House, and for his role in the Watergate scandal, for which he was convicted and imprisoned.

Haldeman was born in Los Angeles, California. After graduating from UCLA, he spent 20 years working for the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency.

Richard Nixon and Haldeman first met in the 1950s. They became political associates during Nixon's 1960 campaign for president, and Haldeman ran Nixon's unsuccessful 1962 campaign for governor of California.

In 1969, Nixon named Haldeman as his White House Chief of Staff. He was a good friend and close working partner of John Ehrlichman, a fellow White House staffer and presidential adviser on domestic affairs. Together, they were known as "the Germans", and were two of Nixon's most loyal and trusted aides during his presidency. Both were ruthless in protecting what they and Nixon saw as the president's best interests; Haldeman referred to himself as Nixon's "son of a bitch".

Haldeman was a key figure in the Watergate scandal, and the unexplained 18 1/2 minute gap in Nixon's Oval Office recordings concealed a discussion that included the president and Haldeman. The scandal forced Haldeman (along with Ehrlichman) to resign on April 30, 1973. In 1975, he was convicted of conspiracy and obstruction of justice on New Year's Day, and sentenced February 21 to an 18-month prison sentence, which he served in Lompoc Federal Prison.

In 1978, he published "The Ends of Power," in which he took responsibility for fostering the atmosphere in which Watergate flourished. His White House diaries were released posthumously as The Haldeman Diaries in 1994—an abridged version in print, and the full version on CD-ROM.

Haldeman died of abdominal cancer at his home in Santa Barbara, California. His burial site has never been revealed.

References

• Haldeman, H. R. The Haldeman Diaries: Inside the Nixon White House. New York : Putnam, 1994.
• Washington Post profile of Haldeman (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/onpolitics/watergate/haldeman.html)