born July 9, 1932
Chicago, Illinois
- 1954: B.A., politics, Princeton University
- honorary degrees in law from:
- Park College
- Lake Forest College
- Illinois College
- 1958: Administrative Assistant to Congressman Dave Dennison
- 1959: staff assistant to Congressman Robert Griffin
- 1960-1962: staff, A. G. Becker and Company
- 1962-1969: elected to the US House of Representatives, Illinois
- 1969: director of the Office Of Economic Opportunity
- 1970: counsellor to the president
- 1971: director of the Cost of Living Council
- 1973: U.S. ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
- 1974: headed Gerald Ford's transition team
- 1974: director of the White House Office of Operations
- 1974: coordinator of the White House Staff
- 1975: Secretary of Defense
Rumsfeld was one of Gerald Ford's closest advisors. He was also the youngest Secretary of Defense to date, being 43 years old upon his appointment.
Rumsfeld left office when Gerald Ford failed to be reelected. He officially ended his term on January 20, 1977.
- 1977-1985: president and CEO of G. D. Searle and Company
- 1982-1986: member of the General Advisory Committee on Arms Control
- 1982-1983: Ronald Reagan's Special Envoy on the Law of the Sea Treaty
- 1983-1984: member of the U.S. Joint Advisory Commission on U.S./Japan Relations
- 1983-1984: special ambassador to the Middle East, appointed by Ronald Reagan
- 1985-1990: senior advisor to William Blair & Co
- 1987-1990: member of the National Commission on the Public Service
- 1988-1989: member of the National Economic Commission
- 1988-1992: member of the Board of Visitors of the National Defense University
- 1989-1991: member of the Commission on U.S./Japan Relations
- 1990-1993: chairman and CEO of General Instrument Corporation
- 1991-1996: member of the board of directors of Amylin Pharmaceuticals
- 1992-1993: member of FCC's High Definition Television Advisory Committee
- 1998-1999: chairman, Commission on the Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States
- 1999-2000: member of the U.S. Trade Deficit Review Commission
- 2000: chairman of the U.S. Commission to Assess National Security Space Management and Organization
- Current Positions:
- chairman of the Salomon Smith Barney International Advisory Board
- member of the Forstmann Little & Co. Advisory Board
- December 28, 2000: Rumsfeld has been nominated to the position of Secretary of Defense by President-elect George W. Bush.
- January 20, 2001: Rumsfeld sworn in as Secretary of Defense
- September 11, 2001: hijacked commercial air-liners are used as bombs in a terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The acts spark world-wide support in the fight against terrorism. Rumsfeld comments that the United States must "drain the swamp they live in."
"They're benefiting from the support of governments and from the support of nongovernmental organizations that are either actively supporting them with money, intelligence and weapons, or allowing them to function on their territory and tolerating, if not encouraging, their activities."
"It's not a matter of a single event. We're talking about a very broadly based campaign to go after the terrorist problem where it exists, and it exists in countries across the globe. As I've indicated, this one network, al Qaeda, that's receiving so much discussion and publicity, may have activities in 50 to 60 countries, including the United States."
"The people who committed these acts are clearly determined to try to force the United States of America and our values from the world, or to respond by curtailing our freedoms. If we do that, the terrorists will have won, and we have no intention of doing so."
- September 10, 2002: Rumsfeld recommends that the president arms Stinger and Avenger missile launchers which had been put in place earlier in the week for a "training exercise". The president agrees. The missile launchers are armed under the on-going Operation Noble Eagle.
references: www.defenselink.mil, http://www.amylin.com/website/Corp_Info/Rumsfeld.htm, http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/ford/library/exhibits/cabinet/rumsfeld.htm, http://security-policy.org/flame1998.html, http://www.smithbarney.com/features/press/pr051299.html, http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/09/10/ar911.air.defense/index.html ("The decision to arm the portable Stinger missile launchers was made Tuesday morning by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Pentagon officials said.")
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