Alexander Haig | |
|---|---|
 Haigc. 1970s | |
| 59th United States Secretary of State | |
| In office 22 January 1981 – 5 July 1982 | |
| President | Ronald Reagan |
| Deputy | William P. Clark Jr. Walter J. Stoessel Jr. |
| Preceded by | Edmund Muskie |
| Succeeded by | George Shultz |
| 7th Supreme Allied Commander Europe | |
| In office 15 December 1974 – 1 July 1979 | |
| President | Gerald Ford Jimmy Carter |
| Deputy | John Mogg Harry Tuzo Gerd Schmückle |
| Preceded by | Andrew Goodpaster |
| Succeeded by | Bernard W. Rogers |
| 5thWhite House Chief of Staff | |
| In office 4 May 1973 – 21 September 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 4 January 1973 – 4 May 1973 | |
| President | Richard Nixon |
| Preceded by | Bruce Palmer Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Frederick C. Weyand |
| 6thUnited States Deputy National Security Advisor | |
| In office June 1970 – 4 January 1973 | |
| President | Richard Nixon |
| Preceded by | Richard V. Allen |
| Succeeded by | Brent Scowcroft |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Alexander Meigs Haig Jr. (1924-12-02)2 December 1924 |
| Died | 20 February 2010(2010-02-20) (aged 85) |
| Resting place | Arlington National Cemetery |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3, includingBrian |
| Education | University of Notre Dame United States Military Academy (BS) Columbia University (MBA) Georgetown University (MA) |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1947–1979 |
| Rank | General |
| Battles/wars | Korean War Vietnam War |
| Awards | |
Alexander Meigs Haig Jr. (/heɪɡ/; 2 December 1924 – 20 February 2010) was an American politician who served asUnited States Secretary of State under PresidentRonald Reagan andWhite House chief of staff under PresidentsRichard Nixon andGerald Ford.[1] Prior to and in between these cabinet-level positions, he was a general in theU.S. Army, serving first as the vice chief of staff of the Army and then asSupreme Allied Commander Europe. In 1973, Haig became the youngest four-star general in the U.S. Army's history.
Haig was born and raised in Pennsylvania. He graduated from theU.S. Military Academy and served in theKorean War, during which he served as an aide to generalAlonzo Patrick Fox and generalEdward Almond. Afterward, he served as an aide to defense secretaryRobert McNamara. During theVietnam War, Haig commanded a battalion and later a brigade of the1st Infantry Division. For his service, Haig received theDistinguished Service Cross, theSilver Star withoak leaf cluster, and thePurple Heart.[2]
In 1969, Haig became an assistant to national security advisorHenry Kissinger. He becamevice chief of staff of the Army, the Army's second-highest-ranking position, in 1972. After the 1973 resignation ofH. R. Haldeman, Haig became President Nixon's chief of staff. Serving in the wake of theWatergate scandal, he became especially influential in the final months of Nixon's tenure, playing a role in persuading Nixon to resign in 1974. Haig continued to serve as chief of staff for the first month of President Ford's tenure. From 1974 to 1979, Haig served asSupreme Allied Commander Europe, commanding allNATO forces in Europe. He retired from the army in 1979 and pursued a career in business.
After Reagan won the1980 U.S. presidential election, he nominated Haig to be his secretary of state. After theReagan assassination attempt, Haig said "I am in control here, in the White House", despite not being next in theline of succession. During theFalklands War, Haig sought to broker peace between the United Kingdom and Argentina. He resigned from Reagan's cabinet in July 1982. He unsuccessfully sought the presidential nomination in the1988 Republican primaries. He also served as the head of a consulting firm and hosted the television programWorld Business Review.[3]
Haig was born inBala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, the middle of three children of Alexander Meigs Haig, a Republican lawyer of Scottish descent, and his wife, Regina Anne (née Murphy).[4] When Haig was 9, his father, aged 41, died of cancer. HisIrish American mother raised her children in theCatholic faith.[5] Haig initially attendedSaint Joseph's Preparatory School inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, on a scholarship; when he was withdrawn due to poor academic performance, he transferred toLower Merion High School inArdmore, Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 1942.
Initially unable to secure his desired appointment to theUnited States Military Academy, though one of his teachers opined that "Al is definitely not West Point material", Haig studied at theUniversity of Notre Dame, where he earned a "string of A's" in an "intellectual awakening"[6] for two years before securing acongressional appointment to the U.S. Military Academy in 1944 at the behest of his uncle, who served as the Philadelphia municipal government's director of public works.[6]
Haig was enrolled in an accelerated wartime curriculum at West Point that deemphasized the humanities and social sciences, and he graduated in the bottom third of his class[7] (ranked 214 of 310) in 1947.[8] Although a West Point superintendent characterized Haig as "the last man in his class anyone expected to become the first general",[9] other classmates acknowledged his "strong convictions and even stronger ambitions".[8] Haig later earned anMBA from theColumbia Business School inNew York City in 1955. As a major, he attended theNaval War College in 1960 and then earned aM.A. ininternational relations fromGeorgetown University inWashington, D.C. in 1961. His thesis at Georgetown University examined the role of military officers in making national policy.
As a young officer, Haig served as an aide to Lieutenant GeneralAlonzo Patrick Fox, a deputy chief of staff to GeneralDouglas MacArthur. In 1950 Haig married Fox's daughter, Patricia.[7] In the early days of theKorean War, Haig was responsible for maintaining General MacArthur's situation map and briefing MacArthur each evening on the day's battlefield events.[10] Haig later served (1950–51) with theX Corps, as aide to MacArthur's chief of staff, GeneralEdward Almond,[2] who awarded Haig two Silver Stars and aBronze Star withValor device.[11] Haig participated in fourKorean War campaigns, including theBattle of Inchon, theBattle of Chosin Reservoir and theevacuation of Hŭngnam,[10] as Almond's aide.
Haig served as a staff officer in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations at thePentagon (1962–64), and then was appointed military assistant to Secretary of the ArmyStephen Ailes in 1964. He then was appointed military assistant to Secretary of DefenseRobert McNamara, continuing in that service until the end of 1965.[7] In 1966, Haig graduated from theUnited States Army War College.
In 1966, Haig took command of abattalion of the1st Infantry Division during theVietnam War. On 22 May 1967, GeneralWilliam Westmoreland rewarded Haig with theDistinguished Service Cross, theU.S. Army's second-highest medal for valor, in recognition of his actions during theBattle of Ap Gu in March 1967.[12][13] During the battle, Haig, then a member of the1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, became pinned down by aViet 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, leading to two days of bloody hand-to-hand combat. An excerpt from Haig's Distinguished Service Cross citation states:
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 ...HQ US Army, Vietnam, General Orders No. 2318 (22 May 1967)[14]
Haig was also awarded theDistinguished Flying Cross and thePurple Heart during his tour in Vietnam[12] and was eventually promoted to colonel as commander of 2nd Brigade,1st Infantry Division in Vietnam.
Following his one-year tour ofVietnam during theVietnam War, Haig returned to the United States to become regimental commander of the Third Regiment of theCorps of Cadets at West Point under the newly appointed commandant, Brigadier GeneralBernard W. Rogers. Both had previously served together in the 1st Infantry Division, Rogers as assistant division commander and Haig as brigade commander.
In 1969, he was appointed military assistant to the assistant to the president for national security affairs,Henry Kissinger. A year later, he replacedRichard V. Allen asdeputy 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 the spring of 1972, theNorth Vietnamese armed forces (PAVN) launched a multi-prong attack, known as theEaster Offensive, on every region of South Vietnam. For the first time, the PAVN deployed heavy weaponry such as mobile surface-to-air missile batteries, tanks, and armored vehicles. In the early weeks of the offensive, the PAVN won startling advances, and captured crucial bases, roads, and cities. Nixon and Kissinger—while delicately picking their way through the diplomatic thickets ofdétente withMoscow andopen relations withPeking (Beijing)—decided to respond to North Vietnam’s sweeping assault by mining itsprincipal harbor, and massively bombing targets in every quarter of North Vietnam.[15] Nixon and Kissinger opted to bypass the Departments ofState andDefense, as well as theJoint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), in any advisory or decision-making capacity relating to what would become known asOperation Linebacker.[16]
Haig effectively substituted for the JCS during this time. He developed the core strategy coordinating the mining with the bombing of transportation targets. He was dispatched to the Pentagon as well as Saigon to critique field commanders and military procedure, and provide an independent information channel to the White House. He was a member of a national securitytriumvirate, along with Nixon and Kissinger, that both scapegoated and ignored themilitary command running the daily operations in Vietnam.[17]
In this position, Haig helpedSouth Vietnamese presidentNguyen Van Thieu negotiate the finalcease-fire talks in 1972. Haig continued in the role until 4 January 1973,[18] when he becamevice chief of staff of the Army. Nixon planned to appoint Haig as chief of staff overCreighton Abrams, whom he personally disliked, butsecretary of defenseMelvin Laird resisted as Haig lacked the relevant upper-level command experience.[19] 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.[20]
In May 1973, after only four months as VCSA, Haig returned to theNixon administration at the height of theWatergate affair asWhite House Chief of Staff. During theSaturday Night Massacre, Haig attempted to make acting-Attorney GeneralWilliam Ruckelshaus fire special prosecutorArchibald Cox. Haig's coercion failed, and Ruckelshaus resigned.[21] Retaining his Army commission, he remained in the position until 21 September 1974, ultimately overseeing the transition to thepresidency of Gerald Ford followingNixon's resignation on 9 August 1974.
Haig has been largely credited with keeping the government running while President Nixon was preoccupied with Watergate[22] and was essentially seen as the "acting president" during Nixon's last few months in office.[7] During July and early August 1974, Haig played an instrumental role in persuading Nixon to resign. Haig presented several pardon options to Ford a few days before Nixon resigned. In this regard, in his 1999 bookShadow, authorBob 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 Nixon to Ford.[23]
About one month after taking office, Ford pardoned 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. A day before Haig's departure to Europe to begin his tenure as NATO Supreme Allied Commander, Haig was telephoned byJ. Fred Buzhardt.[24][25] In the call, Buzhardt discussed with Haig President Ford's upcoming speech to the nation about pardoning Nixon, informing Haig that the speech contained something indicating Haig's role in Nixon's resignation and Ford's pardon of Nixon. According to Haig's autobiography (Inner Circles: How America Changed the World), Haig was furious and immediately drove straight to the White House to determine the veracity of Buzhardt's claims. This was due to his concern that Ford's speech would expose Haig's role in negotiating Nixon's resignation supposedly in exchange for a pardon issued by the new president.[24][25]
On 7 August 1974, two days before Nixon's resignation, Haig met with Nixon in the Oval Office to discuss the transition. Following their conversation, Nixon told Haig "You fellows, in your business, have a way of handling problems like this. Give them a pistol and leave the room. I don't have a pistol, Al."[26]
Following Nixon's resignation, Haig remained briefly as White House Chief of Staff under Ford. Haig aided in the transition by advising the new president mostly on policy matters on which he had been working under the Nixon presidency and introducing Ford to the White House staff and their daily activities. Haig recommended that Ford retain several of Nixon's White House staff for 30 days to provide an orderly transition. Haig and Kissinger also advised Ford on Nixon's détente policy with the Soviet Union following the SALT I treaty in 1972.
Haig found it difficult to get along with the new administration and wanted to return to the Army for his last command. It had also been rumored that Ford wanted to be his own chief of staff. At first Ford decided to replace Haig withRobert T. Hartmann, Ford's chief of staff during his tenure as vice president.[25][24][27] Ford soon replaced Hartmann with United States Permanent Ambassador to NATODonald Rumsfeld. Author and Haig biographerRoger Morris, a former colleague of Haig's on theNational Security Council early in Nixon's first term, wrote that when Ford pardoned Nixon, he in effect pardoned Haig as well.[28]
Haig resigned from his position as White House Chief of Staff and returned to active duty in the United States Army in September 1974.[24]
In December 1974, Haig was appointed as the nextSupreme Allied Commander Europe by President Ford, replacing GeneralAndrew Goodpaster and returning to active duty in the United States Army. Haig also became the front-runner to be the 27thU.S. Army Chief of Staff, following the death of GeneralCreighton Abrams from complications of surgery to remove lung cancer on 4 September 1974. However it was GeneralFrederick C. Weyand who ultimately filled Abrams's position as Chief of Staff.[24] From 1974 to 1979 Haig served as theSupreme Allied Commander Europe, the commander of NATO forces in Europe, as well ascommander-in-chief ofUnited States European Command. During his tenure as SACEUR, Haig focused on transforming SACEUR in order to face the future global challenge following the end of theVietnam War and the rise of Soviet influence within Eastern Europe.
Haig focused on strengthening the relationship between the United States and NATO member nations and their allies. As a result, several fleets of United States Air Force aircraft, such as theF-111 Aardvark from theStrategic Air Command, were relocated to US Air Force bases located in Europe.[24] Haig also stressed the importance of increasing the training of US troops deployed in Europe following his tour of theSixth Fleet in theMediterranean Sea, on which Haig saw poorly-disciplined and ill-trained troops. As a result, Haig conducted routine inspections during NATO troops' training and often went to the training site and participated in the training itself. Haig also recommended the revitalization of equipment in the US installations in Europe and US troops deployed in Europe, in order to strengthen deterrence from possible attack.[24]
Haig took the same route toSHAPE every day—a pattern of behavior that did not go unnoticed by terrorist organizations. On 25 June 1979, Haig was the target of an assassination attempt inMons, Belgium. Aland mine blew up under the bridge on which Haig's car was traveling, narrowly missing his car and wounding three of his bodyguards in a following car.[29][30] Authorities later attributed responsibility for the attack to theRed Army Faction (RAF). In 1993 a German court sentencedRolf Clemens Wagner, a former RAF member, to life imprisonment for the assassination attempt.[29] During Haig's last month as Supreme Allied Commander Europe, he oversaw the talks and negotiation between the United States and NATO member nations of a new policy following the signing ofSALT II treaty on 18 June 1979, by PresidentJimmy Carter and Soviet PresidentLeonid Brezhnev. However Haig also drew concern regarding the treaty, which he believed benefited the Soviet position by giving them a way to build up their military arsenal.[24]
Haig retired from his position as Supreme Allied Commander Europe in July 1979 and was succeeded by GeneralBernard W. Rogers, who previously served asArmy Chief of Staff.[24] Haig's retirement ceremony took place atNATO Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe on 1 July 1979, and was attended bySecretary of DefenseHarold Brown,NATO Secretary GeneralJoseph Luns and U.S. Ambassador to NATOWilliam Tapley Bennett Jr.[24]
In 1979, Haig joined thePhiladelphia-basedForeign Policy Research Institute as director of its Western Security Program, and he later served on the organization's board of trustees.[31] Later that year, he was named president and director ofUnited Technologies Corporation under chief executive officerHarry J. Gray, where he remained until 1981.
Haig was the second of three career military officers to become secretary of state (George C. Marshall andColin Powell were the others). His speeches in this role in particular led to the coining of the neologism "Haigspeak," described ina dictionary of neologisms as "Language characterized by pompous obscurity resulting from redundancy, the semantically strained use of words, and verbosity,"[32] leading AmbassadorNicko Henderson to offer a prize for the best rendering of theGettysburg Address in Haigspeak.[33]
On 11 December 1980, president-elect Reagan was prepared to publicly announce nearly all of his candidates for the most important cabinet-level posts. Singularly absent from the list of top nominees was his choice for Secretary of State, presumed by many at the time to be Alexander Haig. Haig's prospects forSenate confirmation were clouded when Senate Democrats questioned his role in the Watergate scandal. In Haig's defense, North CarolinaSenator Jesse Helms claimed to have phoned former president Nixon personally to inquire whether any material onNixon's unreleased White House tapes could embarrass Haig. According to Helms, Nixon replied, "Not a thing."[34] Haig was eventually confirmed after hearings he described as an "ordeal," during which he received no encouragement from Reagan or his staff.[35]
Several days earlier, on 2 December 1980, as Haig faced these initial challenges to the next step in his political career, four U.S. Catholic missionary women inEl Salvador, two of whom wereMaryknoll sisters,were beaten, raped and murdered by fiveSalvadoran national guardsmen ordered to follow them. Their bodies were exhumed from aremote shallow grave two days later in the presence of then-U.S. ambassador to El SalvadorRobert E. White. Despite this diplomatically awkward atrocity, theCarter administration soon approved $5.9 million in lethal military assistance to El Salvador's oppressive right-wing government.[36] The incoming Reagan administration expanded that aid to $25 million less than six weeks later.[37]
In justifying the arms shipments, the new administration claimed that the Salvadoran government ofJosé Napoleón Duarte had taken "positive steps" to investigate the murder of four American nuns, but this was disputed by U.S. Ambassador Robert E. White, who said that he could find no evidence the junta was "conducting a serious investigation." White was dismissed from the Foreign Service by Haig because of his complaints. White later asserted that the Reagan administration was determined to ignore and even conceal the complicity of the Salvadoran government and army in the murders.[38]
Throughout the1980 U.S. presidential campaign, Reagan and his foreign policy advisers faulted theCarter administration's perceived over-emphasis on the human rights abuses committed by authoritarian governments allied to the U.S., labeling it a"double standard" when compared with Carter's treatment ofcommunist-bloc governments. Haig, who described himself as the "vicar" of U.S. foreign policy,[39] believed the human rights violations of a U.S. ally such as El Salvador should be given less attention than the ally's successes against enemies of the U.S., and thus found himself diminishing the murders of the nuns before theHouse Foreign Affairs Committee in March 1981:
I'd like to suggest to you that some of the investigations would lead one to believe that perhaps the vehicle the nuns were riding in may have tried to run through a roadblock, or may have accidentally been perceived to have been doing so, and there may have been an exchange of fire, and then perhaps those who inflicted the casualties sought to cover it up.
— Alexander Haig,Alexander Haig, House Foreign Affairs committee testimony, quoted by UPI, 19 March 1981[40]
The outcry that immediately followed Haig's insinuation prompted him to emphatically withdraw his speculative suggestions the very next day before theSenate Foreign Relations Committee.[41] Similar public relations miscalculations, by Haig and others, continued to plague the Reagan administration's attempts to build popular support at home for itsCentral American policies.
In 1981, following the 30 Marchassassination attempt on Reagan, Haig asserted before reporters, "I am in control here"[42] as a result of Reagan's hospitalization, indicating that, while Reagan had not "transfer[red] the helm," Haig was in fact directing White House crisis management until Vice PresidentGeorge 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. He has not done that. As of now, I am in control here, in the White House, pending return of the vice president and in close touch with him. If something came up, I would check with him, of course.
— Alexander Haig,"Alexander Haig", autobiographical profile inTime magazine, 2 April 1984[43]
TheU.S. Constitution, including both thepresidential line of succession and the25th Amendment, dictates what happens when a president is incapacitated. TheSpeaker of the House (at the time,Tip O'Neill, Democrat) and thepresident pro tempore of the Senate (at the time,Strom Thurmond, Republican), precede the secretary of state in the line of succession. Haig later clarified,
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?"
— Alexander Haig,"Alexander Haig" interview with60 Minutes II 23 April 2001
His reputation never recovered after this press conference,[44] and in virtually all of the obituaries published after his death, his quote is referenced in the opening paragraphs.
In April 1982, Haig conductedshuttle diplomacy between the governments ofArgentina in Buenos Aires and the United Kingdom in London afterArgentina invaded the Falkland Islands. Negotiations collapsed and Haig returned to Washington on 19 April. TheBritish naval fleet then entered the war zone. In December 2012 documents released under the United Kingdom's30 Year Rule disclosed that Haig planned to reveal British classified military information to Argentina in advance of the recapture ofSouth Georgia Island. The information, which contained the plans forOperation Paraquet, was intended to show theArgentine military junta in Buenos Aires that the United States was a neutral player and could be trusted to act impartially during negotiations to end the conflict.[45] However, in 2012 it was revealed via documents released from theReagan Presidential Library that Haig attempted to persuade Reagan to side with Argentina in the war.[46]
Haig's report to Reagan on 30 January 1982, shows that Haig feared the Israelis might start a war against Lebanon.[47] Critics accused Haig of "greenlighting" theIsraeli invasion of Lebanon in June 1982. Haig denied this and said he urged restraint.[48]
Haig caused some alarm with his suggestion that a "nuclear warning shot" in Europe might be effective in deterring theSoviet Union.[49] His 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, decided to resign his post on 25 June 1982.[50] President Reagan accepted his resignation on 5 July.[51] Haig was succeeded byGeorge P. Shultz, who was confirmed on July 16.[52]
Haig ran unsuccessfully for the1988 Republican Party presidential nomination. 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 PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush, often doubting Bush's leadership abilities, questioning his role in theIran–Contra affair, and using the word "wimp" in relation to Bush in an October 1987 debate inTexas.[53] Despite extensive personal campaigning and paid advertising inNew Hampshire, Haig remained stuck in last place in the polls. After finishing with less than 1 percent of the vote in theIowa caucuses and trailing badly in theNew Hampshire primary polls, Haig withdrew his candidacy and endorsed SenatorBob Dole.[54][55] Dole, steadily gaining on Bush after beating him handily a week earlier in theIowa caucus, ended up losing to Bush in the New Hampshire primary by 10 percentage points. With his momentum regained, Bush easily won the nomination.
.jpg)
In 1980 Haig had a doubleheart bypass operation.[56]
After leaving the Reagan White House, Haig took a seat on theMGM board of directors in an effort to cultivate a film career.[57] He supervised the development ofJohn Milius'Red Dawn (1984) and made significant changes to it.[58] While heading a consulting firm in the 1980s and 1990s, he served as a director for various struggling businesses, including computer manufacturerCommodore International.[59] He also served as a founding corporate director ofAmerica Online.[60]
Haig was the host for several years of the television programWorld Business Review. At the time of his death, he was the host of21st Century Business, with each program a weekly business education forum that included business solutions, expert interview, commentary, and field reports.[61] Haig was co-chairman of the American Committee for Peace in the Caucasus, along withZbigniew Brzezinski andStephen J. Solarz. He was also member of theWashington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP) board of advisers.[62]
On 5 January 2006, Haig participated in a meeting at theWhite House of former secretaries of defense and state to discuss U.S. foreign policy with Bush administration officials.[63] On 12 May 2006, Haig participated in a second White House meeting with 10 former secretaries of state and defense. The meeting included briefings byDonald Rumsfeld andCondoleezza Rice and was followed by a discussion with PresidentGeorge W. Bush.[64] Haig's memoirs—Inner Circles: How America Changed The World—were published in 1992.
On 19 February 2010, a hospital spokesman revealed that the 85-year-old Haig had been hospitalized atJohns Hopkins Hospital inBaltimore since January 28 and remained in critical condition.[65] On February 20, Haig died at the age of 85, fromcomplications from astaphylococcal infection that he had prior to admission. According toThe New York Times, his brother, Frank Haig, said the Army was coordinating a mass atFort Myer in Washington, D.C., and an interment atArlington National Cemetery, but both had to be delayed by about two weeks owing to thewars in Afghanistan andIraq.[7] A Mass of Christian Burial was held at theBasilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., on 2 March 2010. Eulogies were given byHenry Kissinger and Sherwood D. Goldberg.[66]
PresidentBarack Obama said in a statement that "General Haig exemplified our finest warrior–diplomat tradition of those who dedicate their lives to public service."[7] Secretary of StateHillary 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."[67]
Alexander Haig was married to Patricia (née Fox), with whom he had three children: Alexander Patrick Haig, Barbara Haig, andBrian Haig.[7] Haig's younger brother,Frank Haig, was aJesuit priest andprofessor emeritus ofphysics atLoyola University in Baltimore, Maryland.[68]
Articles
Books
Contributed works
 | ||
 |   |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |   |
 |    |  |
 |  |  |
 |   | .jpg) |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 | ||
 |  |  |
| Valorous Unit Award | ||
| Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation | Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation | Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Medal Unit Citation |
 |
| SHAPE Badge |
In 1976, Haig received the Golden Plate Award of theAmerican Academy of Achievement.[70] In 2009, Haig was recognized for their generous gift in support of academic programs at West Point by being inducted into the Eisenhower Society for Lifetime Giving.[71]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Deputy National Security Advisor 1970–1973 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | White House Chief of Staff 1973–1974 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Secretary of State 1981–1982 | Succeeded by |
| Military offices | ||
| Preceded by | Vice Chief of Staff of the Army 1973 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Supreme Allied Commander Europe 1974–1979 | Succeeded by |
Leaders of theUnited States Army | ||
|---|---|---|
| Senior officers / commanding generals |   | |
| Chiefs of staff | ||
| Vice chiefs of staff | ||
 | ||
