William B. Saxbe | |
|---|---|
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| United States Ambassador to India | |
| In office March 8, 1975 – November 20, 1976 | |
| President | Gerald Ford |
| Preceded by | Daniel Patrick Moynihan |
| Succeeded by | Robert F. Goheen |
| 70thUnited States Attorney General | |
| In office January 4, 1974 – February 2, 1975 | |
| President | Richard Nixon Gerald Ford |
| Deputy | Laurence Silberman |
| Preceded by | Elliot Richardson |
| Succeeded by | Edward H. Levi |
| United States Senator fromOhio | |
| In office January 3, 1969 – January 3, 1974 | |
| Preceded by | Frank Lausche |
| Succeeded by | Howard Metzenbaum |
| Attorney General of Ohio | |
| In office January 14, 1963 – January 3, 1969 | |
| Governor | Jim Rhodes |
| Preceded by | Mark McElroy |
| Succeeded by | Paul W. Brown |
| In office January 14, 1957 – January 12, 1959 | |
| Governor | C. William O'Neill |
| Preceded by | C. William O'Neill |
| Succeeded by | Mark McElroy |
| Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives | |
| In office January 5, 1953 – January 2, 1955 | |
| Preceded by | Gordon Renner |
| Succeeded by | Roger Cloud |
| Member of theOhio House of Representatives | |
| In office 1947 – January 2, 1955 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Bart Saxbe (1916-06-24)June 24, 1916 Mechanicsburg, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | August 24, 2010(2010-08-24) (aged 94) Mechanicsburg, Ohio, U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3, includingRocky |
| Education | Ohio State University (BA,LLB) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1940-1945 1951-1952 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Unit | United States Army Air Corps |
| Battles/wars | World War II Korean War |
William BartSaxbe (/ˈsæksbiː/SAKS-bee; June 24, 1916 – August 24, 2010) was an American diplomat and politician affiliated with theRepublican Party, who served as aU.S. senator forOhio, and was theattorney general for PresidentsRichard M. Nixon andGerald R. Ford, and as theU.S. ambassador to India.
At the time of his death, Saxbe was the oldest living Republican senator and the second-oldest living senator overall (afterHarry F. Byrd Jr. of Virginia).
Saxbe was born 1916 inMechanicsburg, Ohio, the son of Faye Henry "Maggie" (née Carey) Saxbe, and Bart Rockwell Saxbe.[1]
He received abachelor's degree, from TheOhio State University, Class of 1940, where he was a member ofChi Phi fraternity. He served in theU.S. Army Air Forces, duringWorld War II, from 1940 to 1945, andKorean War, from 1951 to 1952.[2]
When he returned fromWorld War II, he enteredOhio State University law school. However, while still in law school, he campaigned for theOhio House of Representatives during 1947, and won. During 1948, when Saxbe was near the end of second term, he received alaw degree.
He remained in theOhio National Guard and was on active duty during theKorean War, from 1951 to 1952. He was discharged from the reserve with the rank of colonel during 1963.[2] He served as the Ohio House majority leader during 1951 and 1952, and as speaker of the House during 1953 and 1954.
During 1957, Saxbe was electedOhio Attorney General, defeatingDemocratStephen M. Young. He was re-elected three times and had that office until 1968. In this capacity, Saxbe argued the murder case of DoctorSam Sheppard before the United States Supreme Court during 1966, against Sheppard's attorneyF. Lee Bailey.
He was a member of the Ohio Crime Commission from 1967 to 1968. During 1968, Saxbe was elected to the U.S. Senate, defeating the Democratic candidate, former Ohio Rep. (1965–1967)John J. Gilligan. During his campaign, he became a prominent supporter of a national health insurance system, co-sponsoring the Kennedy-Griffiths universal healthcare program in 1971 alongside fellow RepublicansJacob Javits (New York),Clifford Case (New Jersey) andJohn Sherman Cooper (Kentucky). WhenPresident Nixonresumed bombing North Vietnam in late 1972, Saxbe stated that the President had 'lost his senses'.[3][4][5]
He served in the Senate until January 3, 1974, when Nixon appointed him U.S. Attorney General.[6] Saxbe was the permanent replacement forElliot Richardson, who had been dismissed by Nixon during theWatergate scandal's so-called "Saturday Night Massacre". Saxbe took over fromSolicitor GeneralRobert Bork, who had served as acting attorney general after the "Massacre".
There was some minor controversy regarding Saxbe's appointment and theIneligibility Clause of the Constitution. That provision states that a legislator cannot be appointed to an executive position during the same term that the legislature had voted to increase the salary of said position. Nixon addressed the problem by having Congress reduce the salary of the attorney general to $35,000,[7] as it was before Saxbe's term in the Senate began. This maneuver had only occurred once before, when SenatorPhilander C. Knox had been appointedSecretary of State during 1909,[8] and has since become known as the "Saxbe fix". Because there was not any perception that anythingintentional had been done to benefit Saxbe, the matter was largely ignored.
As attorney general for Nixon, Saxbe supervised the antitrust suit that ultimately ended the Bell System telephone monopoly.[9]
Gilligan, who had been electedGovernor of Ohio during 1970, appointedHoward Metzenbaum to serve Saxbe's vacated term. Later that year, former astronautJohn Glenn, another Democrat, was elected to replace Saxbe.
Saxbe served asU.S. Attorney General for the first few months of the PresidentFord administration, before resigning in early 1975, when he was appointedUnited States Ambassador to India. He served in that capacity until 1977. After that, Saxbe returned to Mechanicsburg and resumed the practice of law.
During 1940, Saxbe married the former Ardath Louise "Dolly" Kleinhans.[2] They had three children: William Bart Saxbe Jr., Juliet Louise "Juli" Saxbe Spitzer, andCharles Rockwell "Rocky" Saxbe. Charles Saxbe served four terms inOhio House of Representatives, and later as an attorney in private practice.
Saxbe was known for his quips. Asked about Sen.Bob Dole, he commented that Dole was so unpopular with his fellow senators at the time that he "couldn't sell beer on a troop ship".[10]
He died in his hometown of Mechanicsburg, Ohio, at the age of 94 on August 24, 2010.[11]
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