Alexander Haig (1924-), is a former American general and public official. He was born in Philadelphia, and graduated from West Point in 1947. He served in the Korean War from 1950-51 and Vietnam War from 1966-67, after which he became a military aide to Henry Kissinger.
In 1973, he was appointed Vice-chief of Army Staff and Chief of White House Staff. He served as Supreme Commander Allied Europe of NATO from 1974-79, and after retiring from the army, became president of United Technologies
from 1979-1981.
Haig became Secretary of State in 1981 under President
Reagan. Under this position he approved the military operation that came to be known as the Sabra and Shatila massacre in Lebanon. He resigned from the position in 1982 over disagreements on foreign policy in
the Middle East. He ran unsuccessfully for the the presidency in 1998. He wrote two memoirs, Caveat in 1984, and How America Changed the World in 1992.