Paul Ignatius | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait,c. 1967 | |
| 59thUnited States Secretary of the Navy | |
| In office September 1, 1967 – January 24, 1969 | |
| President | Lyndon B. Johnson Richard Nixon |
| Preceded by | Charles F. Baird (acting) |
| Succeeded by | John Chafee |
| 11thUnited States Under Secretary of the Army | |
| In office February 1964 – December 26, 1964 | |
| President | Lyndon B. Johnson |
| Preceded by | Stephen Ailes |
| Succeeded by | Stanley Rogers Resor |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Paul Robert Ignatius (1920-11-11)November 11, 1920 Glendale, California, U.S. |
| Died | November 6, 2025(2025-11-06) (aged 104) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4, includingDavid andAdi |
| Education | |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1943–1946 |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Paul Robert Ignatius (November 11, 1920 – November 6, 2025) was an American government official and businessman who served as the 59thUnited States Secretary of the Navy between 1967 and 1969 during theLyndon B. Johnson administration. He had previously been theUnited States Under Secretary of the Army in 1964. During his time as Navy Secretary, Ignatius was the highest-rankingArmenian American in the United States government.[1]
After government service, Ignatius served as president ofThe Washington Post newspaper and served as executive vice president ofThe Washington Post Company from 1969 until 1971. During his time withThe Washington Post, Ignatius reluctantly oversaw the release of thePentagon Papers, a decision that put him at odds with lead publisherKatharine Graham, who supported the release.[2]
Ignatius also served as president and CEO ofAir Transport Association and was a member of the board of trustees of theGeorge C. Marshall Foundation and theLogistics Management Institute.
Paul Robert Ignatius was born on November 11, 1920, inGlendale, California,[2] the son ofArmenian parents who migrated to the United States, Elisa (née Jamgochian;Armenian:Էլիզա Ջամգոչյան Իգնատոսյան) and Hovsep "Joseph" B. Ignatius (original last name – Ignatosian;Armenian:հովսեյան իգնստոսյան).[3][4][5] Ignatius's ancestors came from the historic Armenian settlement ofAğın nearKharpert (present-dayElazığ, Turkey).[6]
Ignatius received hisbachelor's degree from theUniversity of Southern California (Phi Beta Kappa andPhi Kappa Tau) and hisMBA degree fromHarvard Business School.[3] During this time, he worked a temporary clerk at aU.S. Postal Office facility in Glendale.[1]
Ignatius served as acommissioned lieutenant in theU.S. Navy inWorld War II, principally as an aviation ordnance officer aboardescort aircraft carrierUSS Manila Bay (CVE-61) in the Pacific.[7]
In 1961, Ignatius began working at the Pentagon underU.S. Defense SecretaryRobert S. McNamara.[3] When he started his government career working with theJohn F. Kennedy administration,The New York Times noted in a 1967 article that both Ignatius and McNamara "demonstrate a certain coolness under fire, a grasp of small details in large, complicated problem areas, and an ability to organize and manage a staff effectively".[8]
Ignatius began working as the Assistant Secretary for Installations and Logistics, a role he would hold from 1961 to 1967 under both Presidents Kennedy andLyndon B. Johnson (under the Department of the Army from 1961 to February 1964, and then under the Department of Defense from December 26, 1964 to August 31, 1967).[9] Ignatius briefly served as theUnder Secretary of the Army from February 1964 to December 1964.[9] He later worked exclusively for theU.S. Department of Defense from 1964 to 1967 during the Johnson administration.[9] During this time, he focused on supply chains and preparing ports and bases for theVietnam War.[2]
In August 1967, President Johnson nominated Ignatius to serve as theUnited States Secretary of the Navy.[10] Ignatius was nominated following the death ofJohn McNaughton in an airplane crash. McNaughton was Johnson's original nominee to replace outgoing SecretaryPaul Nitze.[10] Ignatius was confirmed to the role by theU.S. Senate and sworn-in by Defense Secretary McNamara on September 1, 1967.[11]
During his time as Navy secretary, Ignatius oversaw the military's actions during theVietnam War.[3] One of Ignatius's first acts as secretary was that he declined to formally reexamine the case of lieutenant commanderMarcus Aurelius Arnheiter, who was relieved of his command during the Vietnam War.[3] Ignatius supported the verdict in which Arnheiter was found to have violated Navy protocol and regulations by submitting false position reports and mishandling the navy engines.[3]
Ignatius also oversaw theUSSPueblo incident in 1968, when a lightly armedU.S. Naval Intelligence vessel disguised as a research ship was captured off the coast ofNorth Korea and resulted in the death of one crew member.[3] The rest of the 83-person crew were tortured and held in a North Korean prison until the United States negotiated their release 11 months later.[3][12]
Ignatius's tenure as Navy secretary ended in January 1969 shortly afterRichard Nixon was inaugurated as president.[3]
Shortly after leaving the Defense Department in 1969, Ignatius was named president ofThe Washington Post newspaper. He was executive vice president ofThe Washington Post Company.[13][3] He was recommended to the role by former Defense Secretary McNamara, who was a friend of publisherKatharine Graham.[3]
During his time with The Washington Post, Ignatius convinced Graham to expand their old offices rather than construct a new headquarters designed byI. M. Pei.[3] Ignatius also led through a labor strike within the newspaper.[2] Ignatius also unsuccessfully argued against the release of thePentagon Papers.[3] He joined with various lawyers of the Post not to publish the papers after receiving pushback from theRichard Nixon administration.[2] Graham would eventually side withBenjamin C. Bradlee in releasing the papers.[2]
After the Pentagon Papers were released, The Washington Post bought out his contract, ending Ignatius's tenure with the newspaper in 1971.[2]
Ignatius was a trustee of theGeorge C. Marshall Foundation and member of theFederal City Council.[14] He also worked at the Washington Institute of Foreign Affairs.[3] He was co-founder and chairman of the board of trustees forLogistics Management Institute.[15]
Ignatius also served as chairman, president, and CEO ofAir Transport Association.[2] He founded Harbridge House, Inc., a Bostonmanagement consulting and research firm.[16] He also authored two books:On Board: My Life in the Navy, Government, and Business andNow I Know in Part: Stories of My Growing Up.[16]
Ignatius and his wife, Nancy, also served on the boards of charitable organizations and he was chairman of the St. Albans School of PublicService, which encouraged young people to consider careers in government.[2]
Ignatius married Nancy Weiser Sharpless in 1947.[17] Sharpless died in January 2019 from breast cancer.[17] The couple lived in Washington, D.C.[17]
He had two sons and two daughters.[8]David Ignatius is a columnist forThe Washington Post, and anovelist andAdi Ignatius iseditor-in-chief ofHarvard Business Review.[3] Both daughters, Sarah and Amy, have practiced law.[18] Amy Ignatius is a Superior Court Judge in New Hampshire.[19] Sarah Ignatius is a non-profit executive director.[20]
Ignatiusturned 100 on November 11, 2020, and died at his home in Washington, D.C., on November 6, 2025, at the age of 104, five days from what would have been his 105th birthday.[3][2]
On May 23, 2013, the Navy announced that anArleigh Burke-class destroyer,USS Paul Ignatius (DDG-117) would be named for him. It was commissioned atPort Everglades, Florida, on July 27, 2019.[21][22]
Ignatius was also inducted into the USC Hall of Fame and received honors at theArmenian American Museum and Cultural Center.[16]
In July 2025, U.S. SenatorAdam Schiff and U.S. RepresentativeLaura Friedman introduced a bill to rename aU.S. Postal Service facility in Glendale after Ignatius.[1]
Media related toPaul R. Ignatius at Wikimedia Commons| Government offices | ||
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| Preceded by | United States Under Secretary of the Army 1964 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Charles F. Baird Acting | United States Secretary of the Navy 1967–1969 | Succeeded by |
| Department of War (1789–1947) |
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| Department of the Army (1947–present) |
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