William Ruckelshaus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 1st and 5thAdministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency | |
| In office May 15, 1983 – February 7, 1985 | |
| President | Ronald Reagan |
| Deputy | Alvin L. Alm |
| Preceded by | Anne Gorsuch Burford |
| Succeeded by | Lee M. Thomas |
| In office December 4, 1970 – April 30, 1973 | |
| President | Richard Nixon |
| Deputy | Robert W. Fri |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Russell E. Train |
| United States Attorney General Acting | |
| In office October 20, 1973 | |
| President | Richard Nixon |
| Deputy | Himself |
| Preceded by | Elliot Richardson |
| Succeeded by | Robert Bork (acting) |
| 13thUnited States Deputy Attorney General | |
| In office July 9, 1973 – October 20, 1973 | |
| President | Richard Nixon |
| Preceded by | Joseph Tyree Sneed III |
| Succeeded by | Laurence Silberman |
| Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation | |
| Acting April 30, 1973 – July 9, 1973 | |
| President | Richard Nixon |
| Preceded by | L. Patrick Gray (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Clarence M. Kelley |
| United States Assistant Attorney General for theCivil Division | |
| In office January 20, 1969 – December 4, 1970 | |
| President | Richard Nixon |
| Preceded by | Edwin L. Weisl Jr. |
| Succeeded by | L. Patrick Gray |
| Member of theIndiana House of Representatives from the 26th district | |
| In office November 9, 1966 – November 6, 1968 | |
| Preceded by | Multi-member district[1] |
| Succeeded by | Multi-member district |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Doyle Ruckelshaus (1932-07-24)July 24, 1932 Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | November 27, 2019(2019-11-27) (aged 87) Medina, Washington, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 5 |
| Relatives |
|
| Education | Princeton University (BA) Harvard University (LLB) |
| Awards |
|
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| Service years | 1953–1955 |
| Rank | Sergeant |
William Doyle Ruckelshaus (July 24, 1932 – November 27, 2019) was an American attorney and government official.
Ruckelshaus served in theIndiana House of Representatives from 1966 to 1968, and was theUnited States Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division from 1969 to 1970. He was also the firstAdministrator of theUS Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from 1970 to 1973, after being nominated byRichard Nixon. He returned to the position from 1983 to 1985, as the fifth Administrator of the EPA, during theReagan administration. In 1973, he was also the actingFBI Director.
While serving asUS Deputy Attorney General in October 1973, in what became known as the "Saturday Night Massacre,"[2] Ruckelshaus andUS Attorney GeneralElliot Richardson resigned from their positions rather than obey the order ofUS PresidentRichard Nixon to fire the independentspecial prosecutor,Archibald Cox, who was tasked with investigating Nixon's role in theWatergate scandal.
Ruckelshaus was born inIndianapolis,Indiana, on July 24, 1932, the son of Marion Doyle (née Covington) and John K. Ruckelshaus.[3] He was from a distinguished family with a long history of practicing law in Indianapolis and serving inRepublican Party politics.[4][5]
He attendedparochial schools until the age of 16, then finished high school inPortsmouth,Rhode Island, at thePortsmouth Abbey School.[4]
He began college atPrinceton University before being drafted[6] and serving for two years in theUnited States Army, becoming adrill sergeant atFort Lewis inTacoma,Washington.[7] He left the Army in 1955, returning to and graduating from Princeton with anA.B. (cum laude) in history in 1957 after completing a senior thesis titled "American Attitudes toward the Spanish Civil War."[8] In 1960 he earned anLL.B. fromHarvard Law School and joined the family law firm in Indianapolis.[6]
In 1960, Ruckelshaus married Ellen Urban, who died the following year from complications incurred after giving birth to their twin daughters.[4] In 1962 he remarried, toJill Strickland, with whom he had three children.[9]
His brother wasJohn C. Ruckelshaus and his nephew wasJohn Ruckelshaus; they also served in theIndiana General Assembly.[10]
After passing the Indiana bar exam, Ruckelshaus joined the family law firm of Ruckelshaus, Bobbitt, and O'Connor.[11]
In 1960, at age 28, he was appointed as Deputy Attorney General of Indiana, and served through 1965.[5][11] For two years he was assigned to the Indiana Board of Health. As counsel to the Indiana Stream Pollution Control Board, Ruckelshaus obtained court orders prohibiting industries and municipalities from heavily polluting the state's water supply; he also helped draft the Indiana Air Pollution Control Act of 1961, the state's first attempt to reduce that problem.[4][11] After that assignment, he spent two years as Chief Counsel for the Attorney General's Office.[11]
In 1964, Ruckelshaus ran as a moderate Republican inthe U.S. House election inIndiana's 11th district, losing in the primary to Don Tabbert, a candidate from the conservative wing of the party. He subsequently spent a year as minority attorney for theIndiana Senate.[4][11]
He won a seat in theIndiana House of Representatives in 1966, benefiting from an up year for Republicans overall.[11][12] He served in the House for one term, until 1968.[4][12] He became the first first-term legislator to serve asmajority leader of the House.[4][11]
Ruckelshaus ran in the1968 United States Senate election in Indiana, winning the Republican nomination, but losing the general election, 51%–48%,[13][14] to incumbentBirch Bayh.[4][15]
In 1969, PresidentRichard Nixon appointed him asU.S. Assistant Attorney General for theCivil Division of theU.S. Department of Justice in Nixon's new administration. Ruckelshaus held the post until his appointment as the first administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970.[11]
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Ruckelshaus became theUS Environmental Protection Agency's first administrator when the agency was formed on December 2, 1970, by Nixon. Although many people were mentioned as possibilities for the new position, the choice of Ruckelshaus had been based upon the strong recommendation ofUS Attorney GeneralJohn N. Mitchell. Ruckelhaus had been suggested in aNewsweek opinion column by a friend without his knowledge and was later approached Mitchell about the position.[16]
The burning of theCuyahoga River had created a national outcry. The Justice Department under Mitchell filed a civil lawsuit against theJones and Laughlin Steel Company "for discharging substantial quantities ofcyanide into the Cuyahoga" at Ruckelshaus's request and sought an injunction "to halt the discharge of these deleterious materials into the river...."[4][17]
Also during his first tenure at the EPA, Ruckelshaus advocated for and enacted a ban on the insecticideDDT.[4]
Ruckelshaus laid the foundation for the EPA by hiring its leaders by defining its mission, deciding on priorities, and selecting an organizational structure. He also oversaw the implementation of theClean Air Act of 1970.[18][19]
In April 1973, during the growing Watergate scandal, there was a major reshuffling ofNixon administration posts because of the resignations ofWhite House Chief of StaffH. R. Haldeman and Domestic Affairs AdvisorJohn Ehrlichman. Ruckelshaus's record of success at EPA and Justice and his reputation for integrity led to his being appointed actingDirector of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to replaceL. Patrick Gray III, "who had allowed Nixon aides to examine Watergate files and had even destroyed evidence in the case."[4] Later that year, Ruckelshaus was promoted to Deputy Attorney General.[4][5]
On October 20, 1973,[4] in the event known as the "Saturday Night Massacre," Attorney General Elliot Richardson and then Ruckelshaus resigned their positions, rather than obey orders from Nixon to fire the Watergate special prosecutor,Archibald Cox, who was investigating official misconduct by Nixon and his aides and sought "tape recordings that... would incriminate" Nixon.[20] After the resignations, the third in command at the Justice Department,US Solicitor GeneralRobert Bork immediately effected the firing and the abolition of the special prosecutor's office, completing the "Massacre." However, 300,000 telegrams, release of the tapes, the reinstatement of a special prosecutor, and (ultimately) Nixon's resignation in August 1974 would occur over the next 10 months.[4]
After leaving the Justice Department, Ruckelshaus returned to the private sector as an attorney at the Washington law firm of Ruckelshaus, Beveridge,Fairbanks, and Diamond from 1973 to 1975.[21]
In 1975, Ruckelshaus moved toSeattle,Washington, where he accepted a position as senior vice-president for law and corporate affairs of theTacoma-basedWeyerhaeuser timber company.[4][22] Ruckelshaus remained in that position until 1983.[22]
Ruckelshaus was one ofGerald Ford's preferred candidates to be his vice presidentialrunning mate in the1976 election. Ford selectedBob Dole; the two lost the election to DemocratJimmy Carter and his running mate,Walter Mondale.[23]
In 1983, with the EPA in crisis due to mass resignations over the mishandling of theSuperfund program,[24] PresidentRonald Reagan appointed Ruckelshaus to serve as EPA Administrator again. This time it wasWhite House Chief of StaffJames Baker who was Ruckelshaus's champion in asking him to return to the agency.[5] The White House acceded to Ruckhelshaus's request to allow him maximum autonomy in the choice of new appointees.[5]
Ruckelshaus's predecessor,Anne Gorsuch Burford (mother of futureU.S. Supreme CourtJusticeNeil Gorsuch),[25] had depleted the EPA by asking Congress to cut the agency's budget, eliminating jobs and halting enforcement activities.[4][6] On his second day after taking over for Burford, Ruckelsaus fired four people on the agency's management team.[6]
Under Ruckelshaus' tenure, the issue of asbestos in schools was directed against the EPA.[26]
Ruckelshaus attempted to win back public confidence in the EPA, a challenging task in the face of a skeptical press and a wary Congress, both of whom scrutinized all aspects of the agency's activities and some of whom interpreted a number of its actions in the worst possible light.[4] Nonetheless, Ruckelshaus filled the top-level staffing slots with persons of competence, turned the attention of the staff back to the agency's fundamental mission, and raised the esteem of the agency in the public mind.[4][6]
On November 28, 1984, Ruckelshaus announced that he would be retiring as EPA head, effective January 5, 1985, around the start of President Reagan's second term. He remained Administrator until February 7, 1985, when his successor,Lee M. Thomas, was confirmed.[25]
Of his two tenures at EPA, Ruckelshaus later reflected:[27]
I've had an awful lot of jobs in my lifetime, and in moving from one to another, have had the opportunity to think about what makes them worthwhile. I've concluded there are four important criteria: interest, excitement, challenge, and fulfillment. I've never worked anywhere where I could find all four to quite the same extent as at EPA. I can find interest, challenge, and excitement as [board chair of a company]. I do have an interesting job. But it is tough to find the same degree of fulfillment I found in the government. At EPA, you work for a cause that is beyond self-interest and larger than the goals people normally pursue. You're not there for the money, you're there for something beyond yourself.[27]
Ruckelshaus was atPerkins Coie, a Seattle-based law firm, from 1985 to 1988.[22] From 1983 to 1986, he served on theWorld Commission on Environment and Development set up by theUnited Nations.[19]
From 1988 to 1999, he served aschief executive officer ofBrowning-Ferris Industries ofHouston,Texas, a major and expanding waste-removal firm.[5] During his tenure, Browning Ferris shifted from a focus on hazardous wastes to recycling. As the company expanded its operations intoNew York City, Ruckelshaus "helped investigators infiltrate a Mafia-dominated carting conspiracy, leading prosecutors to obtain indictments."[4]
After leaving Browning-Ferris, Ruckelshaus became a partner in the private investment firm,Madrona Venture Group.[5]
PresidentBill Clinton appointed Ruckelshaus as a member of the President's Council for Sustainable Development from 1993 to 1997,[5] and as U.S.special envoy in the implementation of the Pacific Salmon Treaty from 1997 to 1998.[5][22] He was also appointed Chairman of the Salmon Recovery Funding Board for the state ofWashington.[28]
Ruckelshaus was appointed by PresidentGeorge W. Bush to serve on theUnited States Commission on Ocean Policy,[4] which submitted its Final Report to the President and Congress,An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century, in 2004.[29]
In June 2010, Ruckelshaus became co-chair of theJoint Ocean Commission Initiative.[30]
Ruckelshaus served as a director on boards of several corporations, includingIsilon Systems,Monsanto,Cummins,Pharmacia,Solutia,Coinstar,Nordstrom,Pfizer, andWeyerhaeuser.[31]
He was Chair of the Advisory Board of The William D. Ruckelshaus Center[32] at theUniversity of Washington andWashington State University, Chair Emeritus of theUniversity of Wyoming's Ruckelshaus Institute for Environment and Natural Resources, Chairman Emeritus of theWorld Resources Institute,[33] and Chair of theMeridian Institute. He was a director of the Initiative for Global Development.[34]
In 2008, Ruckelshaus endorsedBarack Obama inthe 2008 election forPresident of the United States.[35] In August 2016, Ruckelshaus and another former Republican-appointed EPA administrator,William K. Reilly, jointly endorsedHillary Clinton for president inthe 2016 election.[36]
In 2008, Ruckelshaus was appointed to the Washington State Puget Sound Partnership, an agency devoted to cleaning up Puget Sound.[37] In early 2012, Ruckelshaus was appointed co-chair of the Washington Blue Ribbon Panel onocean acidification.[38]
In August 2018, Ruckelshaus drew parallels to the actions of PresidentDonald Trump's administration relating to special prosecutorRobert Mueller and Ruckelshaus's own experiences during the Massacre and with President Nixon's "disrespect for the rule of law" in anopinion-editorial inThe Washington Post.[20]
In November 2015, Ruckelshaus was awarded thePresidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama during a ceremony at theWhite House.[39][40]
Ruckelshaus died at his home inMedina,Washington, on November 27, 2019, at age 87.[4][41]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Republican nominee for U.S. SenatorfromIndiana (Class 3) 1968 | Succeeded by |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by | United States Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division January 20, 1969 – December 4, 1970 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Deputy Attorney General July 9, 1973 – October 20, 1973 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Attorney General Acting October 20, 1973 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| New office | Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency December 4, 1970 – April 30, 1973 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency May 15, 1983 – February 7, 1985 | Succeeded by |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by Pat Gray Acting | Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Acting April 30, 1973 – July 9, 1973 | Succeeded by |
| Bureau of Investigation |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Bureau of Investigation | ||
Italics denotes an acting director. | ||
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| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
