Alexander Haig

Alexander Haig
59th United States Secretary of State
In office January 22, 1981 – July 5, 1982
Deputy	William P. Clark Jr. Walter J. Stoessel Jr.
President	Ronald Reagan
Preceded by	Edmund Muskie
Succeeded by	George P. Shultz
7th Supreme Allied Commander Europe
In office December 16, 1974 – July 1, 1979
Deputy	John Mogg Harry Tuzo Gerd Schmückle
President	Gerald Ford Jimmy Carter
Preceded by	Andrew Goodpaster
Succeeded by	Bernard W. Rogers
5th White House Chief of Staff
In office May 4, 1973 – September 21, 1974
President	Richard Nixon Gerald Ford
Preceded by	H. R. Haldeman
Succeeded by	Donald Rumsfeld
Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army
In office January 4, 1973 – May 4, 1973
President	Richard Nixon
Preceded by	Bruce Palmer Jr.
Succeeded by	Frederick C. Weyand
United States Deputy National Security Advisor
In office June 1970 – January 4, 1973
President	Richard Nixon
Preceded by	Richard V. Allen
Succeeded by	Brent Scowcroft
Born	December 2 1924(1924-12-02) Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	February 20 2010 (aged 85) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Patricia Fox (m.1950)
Children	3
Signature

Alexander Meigs Haig Jr. (December 2, 1924 - February 20, 2010) was an American statesman and military leader. He retired as a general from the United States Army, where he served as an aide to General Alonzo Patrick Fox and General Edward Almond during the Korean War. During the Vietnam War, Haig commanded a battalion and later a brigade of the 1st Infantry Division. He then served as Supreme Allied Commander Europe, commanding all NATO forces in Europe.

After the 1973 resignation of H. R. Haldeman, Haig became President Nixon's chief of staff. Serving in the wake of the Watergate scandal, he became especially influential in the final months of Nixon's tenure, and played a role in persuading Nixon to resign in August 1974. He also served as the United States Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan.

Although his approach often led to misunderstanding and even friction with his colleagues, Haig was a courageous patriot who lived to serve his country. He exemplified the warrior–diplomat tradition of those who dedicate their lives to public service.

Major General Alexander Haig being presented with the Distinguished Service Medal by President Richard Nixon at the Oval Office White House, January 4, 1973.

Life

Born in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, Haig served in the Korean War after graduating from the United States Military Academy.

Haig was born in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, the middle of three children of Alexander Meigs Haig Sr., a Republican lawyer of Scottish descent, and his wife, Regina Anne (née Murphy). When Haig was 9, his father, aged 41, died of cancer. His Irish American mother raised her children in the Catholic faith.

Haig's younger brother, Frank Haig, became a Jesuit priest and professor emeritus of physics at Loyola University in Baltimore, Maryland. Alexander Haig's sister, Regina Meredith, was a practicing attorney licensed in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, was elected a Mercer County, New Jersey Freeholder, and was a co-founding partner of the firm Meredith, Chase and Taggart, located in Princeton and Trenton, New Jersey. She died in 2008.

Haig initially attended Saint Joseph's Preparatory School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on scholarship; when it was withdrawn due to poor academic performance, he transferred to Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, from which he graduated in 1942.

Initially unable to secure his desired appointment to the United States Military Academy, Haig studied at the University of Notre Dame (where he reportedly earned a "string of A's" in an "intellectual awakening") for two years before securing a congressional appointment to the Academy in 1944 at the behest of his uncle, who served as the Philadelphia municipal government's director of public works.

Enrolled in an accelerated wartime curriculum that de-emphasized the humanities and social sciences, Haig graduated in the bottom third of his class (ranked 214 of 310) in 1947. Although a West Point superintendent characterized Haig as "the last man in his class anyone expected to become the first general," other classmates acknowledged his "strong convictions and even stronger ambitions."

Haig later earned an M.B.A. from the Columbia Business School in 1955 and an M.A. in international relations from Georgetown University in 1961. His thesis for the latter degree examined the role of military officers in making national policy.

General Alexander Haig at his White House offices while still wearing his U.S. Army uniform, upon assuming the White House Chief of Staff position on May 4, 1973.

Haig had an outstanding career as a military officer, serving in both the Korean War and the Vietnam War, and then as NATO Supreme Commander. As a young officer, he served as an aide to Lieutenant General Alonzo Patrick Fox, a deputy chief of staff to General Douglas MacArthur, and in 1950 he married Fox's daughter, Patricia. They had three children: Alexander Patrick Haig, Barbara Haig, and Brian Haig.

Haig also served as Chief of Staff in the Nixon and Ford presidencies, as well as Secretary of State to Ronald Reagan.

In the 1980s and 1990s, being the head of a consulting firm, he served as a director for various struggling businesses, the best-known probably being computer manufacturer Commodore International.

His memoirs, Inner Circles: How America Changed The World, were published in 1992.

On February 19, 2010, a hospital spokesman revealed that the 85-year-old Haig had been hospitalized at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore since January 28 and remained in critical condition. On February 20, Haig died at the age of 85, from complications from a staphylococcal infection that he had prior to admission. According to The New York Times, his brother, Frank Haig, said the Army was coordinating a mass at Fort Myer in Washington and an interment at Arlington National Cemetery, but both had to be delayed by about two weeks owing to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. A Mass of Christian Burial was held at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., on March 2, 2010, at which Henry Kissinger gave the eulogy.

Early military career

Korean War

Refugees during the Heungnam evacuation, December 1950

In the early days of the Korean War, Haig was responsible for maintaining General MacArthur's situation map and briefing MacArthur each evening on the day's battlefield events. Haig later served (1950–1951) with the X Corps, as aide to MacArthur's chief of staff, General Edward Almond, who awarded Haig two Silver Stars and a Bronze Star with Valor device.

Haig participated in four Korean War campaigns, including the Battle of Inchon, the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, and the evacuation of Heungnam, as Almond's aide. The latter campaign was a major evacuation of both United Nations military and North Korean civilians which took place after liberating prisoners from the forced labor prison in Heungnam, shortly before they were to be executed by the Communists. One of these prisoners was Sun Myung Moon. Approximately 100,000 troops and material and 100,000 civilians (while an equal number had to be left behind due to lack of shipping space) were loaded onto a variety of merchant ships and military transports over the weeks leading up to Christmas 1950, and were transported to safety in Busan and other destinations in South Korea.

Pentagon assignments

Haig served as a staff officer in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations at the Pentagon (1962–1964), and then was appointed military assistant to Secretary of the Army Stephen Ailes in 1964. He then was appointed military assistant to Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, continuing in that service until the end of 1965. In 1966, Haig graduated from the United States Army War College.

Vietnam War

In 1966 Haig took command of a battalion of the 1st Infantry Division during the Vietnam War. On May 22, 1967, Lieutenant Colonel Haig was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the U.S. Army's second highest medal for valor, by General William Westmoreland as a result of his actions during the Battle of Ap Gu in March 1967. During the battle, Haig's troops (of the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment) became pinned down by a Viet Cong force that outnumbered U.S. forces by three to one. In an attempt to survey the battlefield, Haig boarded a helicopter and flew to the point of contact. His helicopter was subsequently shot down. Two days of bloody hand-to-hand combat ensued. An excerpt from Haig's official Army citation follows:

When two of his companies were engaged by a large hostile force, Colonel Haig landed amid a hail of fire, personally took charge of the units, called for artillery and air fire support and succeeded in soundly defeating the insurgent force ... the next day a barrage of 400 rounds was fired by the Viet Cong, but it was ineffective because of the warning and preparations by Colonel Haig. As the barrage subsided, a force three times larger than his began a series of human wave assaults on the camp. Heedless of the danger himself, Colonel Haig repeatedly braved intense hostile fire to survey the battlefield. His personal courage and determination, and his skillful employment of every defense and support tactic possible, inspired his men to fight with previously unimagined power. Although his force was outnumbered three to one, Colonel Haig succeeded in inflicting 592 casualties on the Viet Cong.

Haig was also awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Purple Heart during his tour in Vietnam, and was eventually promoted to colonel as commander of 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division.

Return to West Point

Following his one-year Vietnam tour, Haig returned to the United States to become regimental commander of the Third Regiment of the Corps of Cadets at West Point under the newly appointed commandant, Brigadier General Bernard W. Rogers. (Both had previously served together in the 1st Infantry Division, Rogers as assistant division commander and Haig as brigade commander.)

Security adviser (1969–1972)

Official portrait of Haig as White House chief of staff

In 1969, Haig was appointed military assistant to the assistant to the president for national security affairs, Henry Kissinger. A year later, he replaced Richard V. Allen as deputy assistant to the president for national security affairs. During this period, he was promoted to brigadier general (September 1969) and major general (March 1972).

In this position, Haig helped South Vietnamese president Nguyen Van Thieu negotiate the final cease-fire talks in 1972. Haig continued in this position until January 1973, when he became vice chief of staff of the Army (VCSA), the second-highest-ranking position in the Army. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in October 1972, thus skipping the rank of lieutenant general. By appointing him to this billet, Nixon "passed over 240 generals" who were senior to Haig.

White House Chief of Staff (1973–1974)

Nixon administration

A meeting of Nixon Administration economic advisors and cabinet members on May 7, 1974. Clockwise from Richard Nixon: George P. Shultz, James T. Lynn, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., Roy L. Ash, Herbert Stein, and William E. Simon.

Haig (far right) is seen meeting with (left to right) Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, President Richard Nixon, and Representative Gerald Ford (R-MI) on October 13, 1973, regarding Ford's upcoming appointment as vice president

After only four months as VCSA, Haig returned to the Nixon administration at the height of the Watergate affair as White House chief of staff in May 1973. Retaining his Army commission, he remained in the position until September 21, 1974, ultimately overseeing the transition to the presidency of Gerald Ford following Nixon's resignation on August 9, 1974.

General Haig with Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and his assistant Major George Joulwan (Seated, corner left) at Haig's office in the White House, August 8, 1974.

Haig has been largely credited with keeping the government running while President Nixon was preoccupied with Watergate and was essentially seen as the "acting president" during Nixon's last few months in office. During July and early August 1974, Haig played an instrumental role in finally persuading Nixon to resign. Haig presented several pardon options to Ford a few days before Nixon eventually resigned.

In this regard, in his 1999 book Shadow, author Bob Woodward describes Haig's role as the point man between Nixon and Ford during the final days of Nixon's presidency. According to Woodward, Haig played a major behind-the-scenes role in the delicate negotiations of the transfer of power from President Nixon to President Ford. Indeed, about one month after taking office, Ford did pardon Nixon, resulting in much controversy. However, Haig denied the allegation that he played a key role in arbitrating Nixon's resignation by offering Ford's pardon to Nixon.

Ford administration

Haig continued to serve as chief of staff for the first month of President Ford's tenure. He was then was replaced by Donald Rumsfeld. Author and Haig biographer Roger Morris, a former colleague of Haig's on the National Security Council early in Nixon's first term, wrote that when Ford pardoned Nixon, he in effect pardoned Haig as well.

NATO Supreme Commander (1974–1979)

Haig as SACEUR

In December 1974, Haig was appointed as the next Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) by President Gerald Ford, replacing General Andrew Goodpaster, and he returned to active-duty within the United States Army. General Haig also became the top runner to be the 27th U.S. Army Chief of Staff, following the death of Army Chief of Staff General Creighton Abrams from complications of surgery to remove lung cancer on September 4, 1974. However it was General Frederick C. Weyand who later fulfilled the late General Abrams position as Army Chief of Staff instead of General Haig.

Haig served as the the commander of NATO forces in Europe, and commander in chief of United States European Command for five years. He took the same route to SHAPE every day—a pattern of behavior that did not go unnoticed by terrorist groups. On June 25, 1979, Haig was the target of an assassination attempt in Mons, Belgium. A land mine blew up under the bridge on which Haig's car was traveling, narrowly missing Haig's car and wounding three of his bodyguards in a following car. Authorities later attributed responsibility for the attack to the Red Army Faction (RAF). In 1993 a German court sentenced Rolf Clemens Wagner, a former RAF member, to life imprisonment for the assassination attempt. Haig retired from his position as SACEUR in July 1979 and was succeeded by General Bernard W. Rogers.

Civilian positions

After retiring from the Army as a four-star general in 1979, Haig moved on to civilian employment. In 1979 he worked at the Philadelphia-based Foreign Policy Research Institute briefly and later served on that organization's board. Later that year, he was named president and director of United Technologies Corporation under Chief Executive Officer Harry J. Gray, a job he retained until 1981.

Secretary of State (1981–1982)

Haig (Seated, Left) with President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George H.W. Bush and the rest of President Ronald Reagan's cabinet members, at the White House Oval Office, January 28, 1981.

After Reagan won the 1980 presidential election, he nominated Haig to be his secretary of state.

Haig's prospects for Senate confirmation were clouded when Senate Democrats questioned his role in the Watergate scandal. Haig was eventually confirmed after hearings he described as an "ordeal," during which he received no encouragement from Reagan or his staff.

Haig was the second career military officers to become secretary of state; George C. Marshall was the first, and after Haig Colin Powell also served in this position. Haig's speeches in this role in particular led to the coining of the neologism "Haigspeak," described as "Language characterized by pompous obscurity resulting from redundancy, the semantically strained use of words, and verbosity."

Reagan assassination attempt: 'I am in control here'

Haig speaks to the press after the attempted assassination on President Ronald Reagan

In 1981, following the March 30 assassination attempt on Reagan, Haig asserted before reporters, "I am in control here." This assertion was met with a mixture of ridicule and alarm as his words were misinterpreted to mean he was taking over the presidency. Haig was in fact directing White House crisis management as a result of Reagan's hospitalization, until Vice President George Bush arrived in Washington to assume that role:

Constitutionally gentlemen, you have the president, the vice president and the secretary of state, in that order, and should the president decide he wants to transfer the helm to the vice president, he will do so. As for now, I’m in control here, in the White House, pending the return of the vice president and in close touch with him. If something came up, I would check with him, of course.

The U.S. Constitution, including both the presidential line of succession and the 25th Amendment, dictates what happens when a president is incapacitated. The Speaker of the House (at the time, Tip O'Neill, Democrat) and the president pro tempore of the Senate (at the time, Strom Thurmond, Republican), precede the secretary of state in the line of succession.

Haig later clarified his statement:

I wasn't talking about transition. I was talking about the executive branch, who is running the government. That was the question asked. It was not, "Who is in line should the president die?"

Falklands War

Haig as Secretary of State with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at Andrews Air Force Base in 1982.

In April 1982 Haig conducted shuttle diplomacy between the governments of Argentina in Buenos Aires and the United Kingdom in London after Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands. Negotiations broke down and Haig returned to Washington on April 19. The British fleet then entered the war zone.

Secretary of State Alexander Haig accompanying President Ronald Reagan during a meeting with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and British Foreign Minister Francis Pym at 10 Downing Street, June 8, 1982.

1982 Lebanon War

Haig's report to Reagan on January 30, 1982, shows that Haig feared that the Israelis might start a war against Lebanon. Critics accused Haig of "greenlighting" the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in June 1982. Haig denied this, claiming that he made efforts to restrain Israel, which unfortunately were unsuccessful.

Resignation

Haig's tenure as secretary of state was often characterized by his clashes with the defense secretary, Caspar Weinberger. Haig, who repeatedly had difficulty with various members of the Reagan administration during his year-and-a-half in office, Haig caused some alarm with his suggestion that a "nuclear warning shot" in Europe might be effective in deterring the Soviet Union. On June 25, 1982, Haig decided to resign his post, referring to growing differences over foreign policy in general and the Middle East in particular. President Reagan accepted his resignation and named George P. Shultz as his successor. Schultz was confirmed on July 16.

1988 Republican presidential primaries

After leaving office, Haig unsuccessfully sought the presidential nomination in the 1988 Republican primaries.

Although he enjoyed relatively high name recognition, Haig never broke out of single digits in national public opinion polls. He was a fierce critic of then–Vice President George H.W. Bush, often doubting Bush's leadership abilities and questioning his role in the Iran–Contra affair.

Despite extensive personal campaigning and paid advertising in New Hampshire, Haig remained in last place in the polls. After finishing with less than 1 percent of the vote in the Iowa caucuses and trailing badly in the New Hampshire primary polls, Haig withdrew his candidacy and endorsed Senator Bob Dole.

Later career

For several years, Haig was the host of the television program World Business Review. At the time of his death, he was the host of 21st Century Business, with each program a weekly business education forum that included business solutions, expert interview, commentary, and field reports.

Haig served as a founding member of the advisory board of Newsmax Media, which publishes the conservative web site, Newsmax. Haig was co-chairman of the American Committee for Peace in the Caucasus, along with Zbigniew Brzezinski and Stephen J. Solarz. A member of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP) board of advisers, Haig was also a founding board member of America Online.

On January 5, 2006, Haig participated in a meeting at the White House of former secretaries of defense and state to discuss U.S. foreign policy with Bush administration officials. On May 12, 2006, Haig participated in a second White House meeting with 10 former secretaries of state and defense, including Colin Powell, Madeleine Albright, Warren Christopher, James Baker III. The meeting included briefings by Donald Rumsfeld and Condoleezza Rice and was followed by a discussion with President George W. Bush.

Legacy

Haig received numerous awards and decorations for his military service, including the Distinguished Service Cross, two Defense Distinguished Service Medals, Army Distinguished Service Medal, Navy Distinguished Service Medal, Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, two Silver Stars, three Legion of Merit awards, three Distinguished Flying Crosses, three Bronze Stars, and a Purple Heart. He was also awarded 1996 Distinguished Graduate Award by West Point.

In 2009, General and Mrs. Haig were recognized for their generous gift in support of academic programs at West Point by being inducted into the Eisenhower Society for Lifetime Giving at the dedication of the Haig Room on the sixth floor of the new Jefferson Hall Library.

Following Alexander Haig's death, President Barack Obama said in a statement that "General Haig exemplified our finest warrior–diplomat tradition of those who dedicate their lives to public service." Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described Haig as a man who "served his country in many capacities for many years, earning honor on the battlefield, the confidence of presidents and prime ministers, and the thanks of a grateful nation."

In his eulogy to Haig, Henry Kissinger said of his colleague of forty years:

Service was Al Haig’s mission. Courage was his defining characteristic. Patriotism was his motivating force.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Algeo, John (ed.). Fifty Years among the New Words: A Dictionary of Neologisms 1941–1991. Cambridge University Press, 1991. ISBN 978-0521413770
• Bell, Elvin C. It Was a Good Road All the Way. Archway Publishing, 2020. ISBN 978-1480887930
• Bellow, Adam. In Praise of Nepotism. Doubleday, 2003. ISBN 978-0385493888
• Colodny, Len,and Robert Gettlin. Silent Coup: The Removal of a President. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press, 1991. ISBN 978-0312051563
• Haig, Alexander M. Jr. Caveat: Realism, Reagan and Foreign Affairs. New York, NY: Scribner, 1984. ISBN 978-0025473706
• Haig, Alexander M. Jr. Inner Circles: How America Changed the World. Grand Central Pub., 1992. ISBN 978-0446515719
• Hersh, Seymour M. The Price of Power: Kissinger in the Nixon White House. New York, NY: Summit Books, 1983. ISBN 978-0671447601
• Locker, Ray. Haig's Coup: How Richard Nixon's Closest Aide Forced Him from Office. Potomac Books, 2019. ISBN 978-1640120358
• Morris, Roger. Haig: The General's Progress. Robson, 1982. ISBN 978-0860511885
• Reagan, Ronald, Douglas Brinkley (ed.). The Reagan Diaries. Harper, 2007. ISBN 9780060876005
• Waller, Douglas C. Congress and the Nuclear Freeze: An Inside Look at the Politics of a Mass Movement. University of Massachusetts Press, 1987. ISBN 978-0870235603
• Woodward, Bob. Shadow: Five Presidents And The Legacy Of Watergate. Simon & Schuster, 2000. ISBN 978-0684852638
• Woodward, Bob, and Carl Bernstein. The Final Days. Simon & Schuster; Reissue edition, 2005. ISBN 978-0743274067

External links

All links retrieved July 18, 2023.

• Biographies of the Secretaries of State: Alexander Meigs Haig Jr. (1924–2010)
• Alexander M. Haig, Jr. (White House Special Files: Staff Member and Office Files)
• Alexander Meigs Haig Hall of Valor: The Military Medals Database
• Alexander Haig U-S-History.com
• Alexander Haig obituary The Guardian

Political offices
Preceded by: Richard V. Allen	Deputy National Security Advisor 1970–1973	Succeeded by: Brent Scowcroft
Preceded by: H. R. Haldeman	White House Chief of Staff 1973–1974	Succeeded by: Donald Rumsfeld
Preceded by: Edmund Muskie	United States Secretary of State 1981–1982	Succeeded by: George P. Shultz
Military offices
Preceded by: Bruce Palmer Jr.	Vice Chief of Staff of the Army 1973	Succeeded by: Frederick C. Weyand
Preceded by: Andrew Goodpaster	Supreme Allied Commander Europe 1974–1979	Succeeded by: Bernard W. Rogers

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