Secretary of Defense, Mr. Rumsfeld

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Until being sworn in as the 21st Secretary of Defense, Mr. Rumsfeld was in
private business. Born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1932, he attended Princeton
University on scholarship (AB, 1954) and served in the U.S. Navy (1954-57) as a
Naval aviator.

He went to Washington, DC, in 1957, during the Eisenhower Administration, to
serve as Administrative Assistant to a Congressman. After a stint with an
investment banking firm, 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 serve in
the Nixon Administration as:

Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity, Assistant to the President, and
a member of the President's Cabinet (1969-1970); and, as
Counsellor to the President, Director of the Economic Stabilization Program,
and a member of the President's Cabinet (1971-1972).
In 1973, he left Washington, DC, to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Brussels, Belgium (1973-1974).

In August 1974, he was called back to Washington, DC, to serve in the Ford
Administration successively as:

Chairman of the transition to the Presidency of Gerald R. Ford (1974);
Chief of Staff of the White House and a member of the President's Cabinet (1974-
1975); and, as
The 13th U.S. Secretary of Defense, the youngest in the country's history (1975-
1977).
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. A leader in broadband transmission,
distribution, and access control technologies for cable, satellite and
terrestrial broadcasting applications, the company pioneered the development of
the first all-digital high definition television (HDTV) technology. After
taking the company public and returning it to profitability, Mr. Rumsfeld
returned to private business in late 1993. Until being sworn in as the 21st
Secretary of Defense, Mr. Rumsfeld served as Chairman of Gilead Sciences, Inc.

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

Member of the President's General Advisory Committee on Arms Control – Reagan
Administration (1982 - 1986);
President Reagan's Special Envoy on the Law of the Sea Treaty (1982 - 1983);
Senior Advisor to President Reagan's Panel on Strategic Systems (1983 - 1984);
Member of the U.S. Joint Advisory Commission on U.S./Japan Relations – Reagan
Administration (1983 - 1984);
President Reagan's Special Envoy to the Middle East (1983 - 1984);
Member of the National Commission on the 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);
FCC's High Definition Television Advisory Committee (1992 - 1993);
Chairman, Commission on the Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States
(1998 - 1999);
Member of the U.S. Trade Deficit Review Commission (1999 - 2000); and
Chairman of the U.S. Commission to Assess National Security Space Management
and Organization (2000).
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 Eisenhower Exchange Fellowships, the Hoover
Institution at Stanford University, and the National Park Foundation. He was
also a member of the U.S./Russia Business Forum and Chairman of the
Congressional Leadership's National Security Advisory Group.

In 1977, Mr. Rumsfeld was awarded the nation’s highest civilian award, the
Presidential Medal of Freedom.