Harry Robbins "Bob" Haldeman (October 27, 1926 – November 12, 1993) was an American political aide and businessman, best known for his service asWhite House Chief of Staff to PresidentRichard Nixon and his consequent involvement in theWatergate scandal.

Bob Haldeman
Haldeman in 1971
4thWhite House Chief of Staff
In office January 20, 1969 – April 30, 1973
President	Richard Nixon
Preceded by	James R. Jones (Appointments Secretary)
Succeeded by	Alexander Haig
Personal details
Born	Harry Robbins Haldeman (1926-10-27)October 27, 1926 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died	November 12, 1993(1993-11-12) (aged 67) Santa Barbara, California, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Joanne Horton ​ (m. 1949)​
Children	4
Education	University of Redlands University of Southern California University of California, Los Angeles (BA)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Navy
Unit	United States Naval Reserve

Born in California, Haldeman served in theNavy Reserves in World War II and attendedUCLA. In 1949, he joined theJ. Walter Thompson advertising agency, where he worked for 20 years as a prominent advertising executive in both Los Angeles and New York City. He made a name for himself early in Los Angeles social circles from his work as chairman of the UCLA Alumni Association and a member of theUniversity of California Board of Regents.

A long family association with theRepublican Party and his own interest drew Haldeman to politics. In the 1950s, he became acquainted with Nixon, for whom he developed both an intense respect and steadfast loyalty. He began as an advance man on PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower'sreelection campaign in 1956, again worked as an advance man on Nixon's1960 presidential campaign, and managedNixon's 1962 run for governor of California. When Nixon waselected President in1968, he selected Haldeman as his chief of staff.

Haldeman is credited with implementing more significant changes toWhite House staffing systems andExecutive Branch governance and operations than any chief of staff before him or since, and it is the "Haldeman system" that presidential administrations continue to operate on today. His intensity and no-nonsense management style earned him a reputation as a stern taskmaster who expected top-notch performance.^[1]

After he left the Nixon administration in April 1973, Haldeman was tried on counts ofperjury,conspiracy, andobstruction of justice for his role in theWatergate cover-up. He was found guilty and imprisoned for 18 months. Upon Haldeman's release, he returned to private life and was a successful businessman and real estate developer until his death from cancer in 1993 at the age of 67.

Haldeman was born in Los Angeles on October 27, 1926, one of three children of socially prominent parents. His father, Harry Francis Haldeman, founded and ran a successful heating and air conditioning supply company, and gave time and financial support to localRepublican causes,^[2] including the Richard Nixon financial fund that led to the so-called "Fund Crisis" during the 1952 presidential race. His mother, Katherine (née Robbins), was a longtime volunteer with theSalvation Army and other philanthropic organizations. His paternal grandfather, Harry Marston Haldeman, co-founded the Better America Federation of California,The Oz Film Manufacturing Company, and agentleman's club namedThe Uplifters.^[2] Young Haldeman and his siblings were raised asChristian Scientists. Known to his peers as a "straight arrow", he sported his trademark flat-top haircut from his high school years – a look that he would adopt for most of his life until after his resignation as Chief of Staff – enjoyed discussions of ethics, and achieved the rank of Life Scout.^[3] He attendedHarvard School, an elite boys prep school, during which time he met Joanne "Jo" Horton, who was attendingMarlborough School, an elite, private secondary school which educated women in the 7th to 12th grades. The two married in 1949.

During World War II he was in the United States Navy Reserve but did not see active combat. Haldeman attended theUniversity of Redlands and theUniversity of Southern California, then transferred to theUniversity of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).^[4][5] He received his B.A. from UCLA in 1948, where he was a member ofBeta Theta Pi fraternity.^[6] At UCLA, he metJohn Ehrlichman, who became a close friend and colleague in theNixon administration.

In 1949, he joined theJ. Walter Thompson advertising agency, where he worked for 20 years in both Los Angeles and New York City;^[7] other employees of this firm during this period includedRonald Ziegler, who went on to serve asWhite House Press Secretary in the Nixon administration.

A long family association with the Republican Party and his own interest drew Haldeman to politics and during this period he commenced working forRichard Nixon, for whom he developed both an intense respect and steadfast loyalty. Beginning as an advance man on Nixon's1956 and1960 campaigns, Haldeman managed Nixon's 1962 run for governor of California, and when Nixon waselected President in1968, he chose Haldeman to be his chief of staff.

When Haldeman's appointment to the White House was announced, Robert Rutland, a close friend and presidential scholar, urged him to start keeping a daily diary recording the major events of each day and Haldeman's thoughts on them. Haldeman took this suggestion and started keeping and maintaining a daily diary throughout his entire career in the Nixon White House (January 18, 1969 – April 30, 1973). The full text of the diaries is almost 750,000 words, and an abridged version was published asThe Haldeman Diaries after Haldeman's death. A full version is available to researchers at theRichard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum.

Gaining a reputation as a stern taskmaster who expected top-notch work, he andJohn Ehrlichman were called "theBerlin Wall" by other White House staffers in a play on their German family names and shared penchant for keeping others away from Nixon and serving as his "gatekeepers". They became Nixon's most loyal and trusted aides during his presidency. Both were keen in protecting what they regarded as Nixon's best interests. He and the president were very close – Haldeman was even dubbed "the president's son-of-a-bitch"^[8] – and Nixon relied on him to filter information that came into his office and to make sure that information was properly dispensed.

Haldeman was one of the various key figures in the Watergate scandal.

The"Smoking Gun" tape revealed that Nixon instructed Haldeman to have theCIA pressure theFBI into dropping its Watergate investigation.^[9] Nixon instructed him to tell the CIA that the investigation would "open up the wholeBay of Pigs thing again".^[9][10] In his book, Haldeman later wrote: "It seems that in all those references to the Bay of Pigs, he was actually referring to theKennedy assassination."^[9][10] He also said that Nixon might have been reminding CIA DirectorRichard Helms that the CIAassassination attempts on Fidel Castro may have triggered the assassination of Kennedy.^[10]

The unexplained18+1⁄2 minute gap in Nixon'sOval Office recordings occurred during a discussion that included the President and Haldeman on June 20, 1972.

Nixon requested the resignations of Haldeman and Ehrlichman in what has been described as a long and emotional meeting atCamp David. Haldeman complied, and his resignation was announced on April 30, 1973 along with those of Ehrlichman and US Attorney GeneralRichard Kleindienst. In a telephone conversation shortly after the resignations, Nixon told Haldeman that he loved him like his brother.^[11] On the eve of Nixon's own resignation that August, Haldeman requested a full pardon for himself along with a full pardon forVietnam Wardraft resisters, arguing that pardoning the latter would take some of the heat off of him. Nixon refused.

On January 1, 1975, Haldeman was convicted of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and three counts of perjury. He was sentenced to serve2+1⁄2 to 8 years, subsequently commuted to 1 to 4 years. InLompoc Federal Prison, Haldeman worked in a facility testing sewage. On December 20, 1978, after serving 18 months, Haldeman was released on parole.

In 1978,Times Books publishedThe Ends of Power, written by Haldeman with the writer Joseph DiMona.^[12][13] Haldeman wrote in the book that Nixon had initiated the break-in and had participated in the cover-up from the onset.^[2]

A passage inThe Ends of Power has been claimed to support allegations linking Watergate to theassassination of John F. Kennedy.^[9][10]

James Woods portrayed Haldeman inOliver Stone's 1995 filmNixon, which presents the scenario that Nixon attempted to use the CIA's hidden anti-Castro history to help cover up his own misdeeds during Watergate.^[14][15] Stone credited the comments attributed to Haldeman inThe Ends of Power as the source for his scenario.^[14]

According to political commentatorChris Matthews, Haldeman denied writing those words and said the theory of events actually belonged to DiMona. Matthews reported that Haldeman said he had no idea of what Nixon meant by the "whole Bay of Pigs thing" comments.^[14] Noting that Stone had implicated Nixon as having a role in planning a plot to kill Castro,Howard Rosenberg described it as "one of the most controversial themes of his movie".^[15] A response byNixon writers Steven Rivele andChristopher Wilkinson stated that DiMona, Haldeman'sghostwriter, had confirmed that it was Haldeman's conclusion that "the Bay of Pigs thing" was a code for the Kennedy assassination.^[16]

In his post-prison years, Haldeman went on to have a successful career as a businessman. Haldeman andBuzz Aldrin, representing Americom International Corp in collaboration withRadisson Hotels, signed an agreement to establish the first U.S. hotel and business complex venture within the formerSoviet Union inMoscow. This agreement was signed during a ceremony held in conjunction with the US-USSR Trade and Economic Council.^[17] Haldeman also worked on development and real estate, and opened eightSizzler Steak Houses in Florida.^[18][19]

On November 12, 1993, after refusing medical treatment in accordance with hisChristian Science beliefs, Haldeman died ofabdominal cancer at his home in Santa Barbara, California. He was survived by his wife of almost 45 years, the former Joanne Horton, and their four children – Susan, Harry (Hank), Peter, and Ann.^[2]

Upon Haldeman's death, Richard Nixon said in a statement, "I have known Bob Haldeman to be a man of rare intelligence, strength, integrity and courage. He played an indispensable role in turbulent times as our Administration undertook a broad range of initiatives at home and abroad."^[7] His White House diaries were released posthumously asThe Haldeman Diaries in 1994.^[20] Nixon died a few months later on April 22 1994 of a stroke age 81

• Operation Sandwedge

• Haldeman, H. R. (1994).The Haldeman Diaries: Inside the Nixon White House. New York: Putnam.ISBN 978-1-879371-86-6.
• Haldeman, Joanne H. (2017).In The Shadow Of The White House. Vireo/Rare Bird.ISBN 9781945572081.
• Trzaskowski, Niklas. " 'Manager of Progress and Process': The Life and Times of HR Haldeman." (PhD dissertation, Mississippi State University 2019).online

• H.R. Haldeman testifying at the Watergate Hearings WETA-TV, 1973 Watergate Hearings
• Washington Post profile of Haldeman
• Washington Post Haldeman Obituary^{[dead link‍]}
• Ford Library & Museum:The Watergate Files
• Ron Schuler's Parlour Tricks: H.R. Haldeman
• Watergate trial of H.R. Haldeman, courtroom sketches.
• The Testimony of John Ehrlichman & H. R. Haldeman atSmithsonian Folkways
• Appearances onC-SPAN