Maureen Dowd
Dowd at a Democratic Debate in Philadelphia, April 16, 2008
Born	Maureen Bridgid Dowd (1952-01-14) January 14, 1952 (age 60) Washington, D.C.
Ethnicity	Irish[1]
Education	B.A., Catholic University of America (1973) Immaculata High School (1969)
Occupation	Columnist
Notable credit(s)	Washington Star Time The New York Times (1983–present)
Religion	Roman Catholic[1]

Maureen Bridgid Dowd^[2] (born January 14, 1952) is a Washington D.C.-based columnist for The New York Times and best-selling author.^[3][4] During the 1970s and the early 1980s, she worked for Time magazine and the Washington Star, where she covered news as well as sports and wrote feature articles.^[3][4] Dowd joined the Times in 1983 as a metropolitan reporter and eventually became an Op-Ed writer for the newspaper in 1995.^[3][4] In 1999, she was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for her series of columns on the Monica Lewinsky scandal in the Clinton administration.^[3][5]

Early life and career[link]

Dowd was born the youngest of five children in Washington, D.C.^[3][4] Her father, Mike, worked as a D.C. police inspector while her mother, Peggy, was a homemaker.^[2][6] Dowd graduated from Immaculata High School in 1969.^[7] She received a B.A. in English in 1973 from Catholic University in Washington, D.C.^[3][4]

Dowd began her career in 1974 as an editorial assistant for the Washington Star, where she later became a sports columnist, metropolitan reporter, and feature writer.^[3][4] When the newspaper closed in 1981, she went to work at Time.^[3][4] In 1983, she joined The New York Times, initially as a metropolitan reporter.^[3][4] She began serving as correspondent in the Times Washington bureau in 1986.^[3][4]

In 1991, Dowd received a Breakthrough Award from Columbia University.^[4] In 1992, she was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for national reporting,^[4] and in 1994 she won a Matrix Award from New York Women in Communications.^[4][8]

[edit] New York Times columnist, 1995–present

Dowd became a columnist on The New York Times Op-Ed page in 1995,^[3][4] replacing Anna Quindlen,^[6] who left to become a full-time novelist.^[9] Dowd was named a Woman of the Year by Glamour magazine in 1996,^[4] and won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for distinguished commentary.^[3] She won The Damon Runyon Award for outstanding contributions to journalism in 2000,^[10] and became the first Mary Alice Davis Lectureship speaker (sponsored by the School of Journalism and the Center for American History) at The University of Texas at Austin in 2005.^[11] In 2010, Dowd was ranked #43 on The Daily Telegraph's list of the 100 most influential liberals in America; in 2007, she was ranked #37 on the same list.^[12]

Writing style[link]

Dowd's columns have been described as letters to her mother, whom friends credit as "the source, the fountain of Maureen’s humor and her Irish sensibilities and her intellectual take."^[2] Dowd herself has said, "she is in my head in the sense that I want to inform and amuse the reader."^[13] Dowd's columns are distinguished by an acerbic, often polemical writing style.^[14] Her columns often display a critical and irreverent attitude towards powerful, mostly political, figures such as former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Dowd also tends to refer to her subjects by nicknames. For example, she has often referred to Bush as "W." and former Vice President Dick Cheney as "Big Time."^[15] She has called President Barack Obama "Spock".^[16] Dowd's interest in candidates' personalities earned her criticism early in her career: "She focuses too much on the person but not enough on policy."^[2]

Dowd, who perceives her columns to be an exploration of politics, Hollywood, and gender related topics, often uses popular culture to support and metaphorically enhance her political commentary.^[14] In a Times video debate, she said of the North Korean government: "...you could look at a movie like Mean Girls and figure out the way these North Koreans are reacting; you know it's like high school girls with nuclear weapons—they just want some attention from us, you know?"^[17]

Dowd's columns have also been often described as political cartoons that capture the caricatured image of the current political landscape, with both precision and exaggeration.^[2] In the run-up to the 2000 presidential election, for example, Dowd wrote that Democratic candidate "Al Gore is so feminized and diversified and ecologically correct that he's practically lactating",^[18] while referring to the Democratic party as the "mommy party".^[2] In a Fresh Dialogues interview years later, she said, "I was just teasing him a little bit because he was so earnest and he could be a little righteous and self important. That’s not always the most effective way to communicate your ideas, even if the ideas themselves are right. I mean, certainly his ideas were right but he himself was – sometimes – a pompous messenger for them." ^[13]

Plagiarism controversy[link]

Talking Points Memo blogger "thejoshuablog" found a paragraph in Dowd's May 17, 2009 Times column that was extremely similar to one in a May 14 blog post by TPM editor Josh Marshall, and accused her of plagiarism.^[19] Dowd, known for finding similarities between an August 1987 speech by Joe Biden and an earlier one by British politician Neil Kinnock, said that the virtually identical paragraph was simply "a line" told to her by a friend, and that she had never read the blog.^[20][21] She left unclear whether the "line" came from a verbal or written exchange with the anonymous friend, and did not explain how the paragraph wound up copied with the exception of two words in the original blog post.^[22] Since then, Dowd's column has been updated with a correction that references Marshall and notes the lack of proper attribution in the original piece.^[22] The public editor for the Times, Clark Hoyt, criticized Dowd by saying, "readers have a right to expect that even if an opinion columnist like Dowd tosses around ideas with a friend, her column will be her own words. If the words are not hers, she must give credit."^[23]

Bibliography[link]

• Bushworld: Enter at Your Own Risk. G. P. Putnam's Sons. 2004. ISBN 0-425-20276-3. 
• Are Men Necessary? When Sexes Collide. Putnam. 2005. ISBN 0-7553-1550-2. 

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Maureen Dowd

• Dowd's columns at The New York Times
• Dowd participates in an extended political discussion with Andrew Rosenthal, David Brooks and Frank Rich, The New York Times video, July 17, 2006
• Maureen Dowd at the Internet Movie Database
• A film clip "The Open Mind - Are Men Necessary? (2005)" is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
• Booknotes interview with Dowd on Bushworld: Enter at Your Own Risk, August 8, 2004.

Donald Rumsfeld
13th and 21st United States Secretary of Defense
In office January 20, 2001 – December 18, 2006
President	George W. Bush
Deputy	Paul Wolfowitz Gordon England
Preceded by	William Cohen
Succeeded by	Robert Gates
In office November 20, 1975 – January 20, 1977
President	Gerald Ford
Deputy	Bill Clements
Preceded by	James Schlesinger
Succeeded by	Harold Brown
6th White House Chief of Staff
In office September 21, 1974 – November 20, 1975
President	Gerald Ford
Preceded by	Alexander Haig
Succeeded by	Dick Cheney
9th United States Ambassador to NATO
In office February 2, 1973 – September 21, 1974
Appointed by	Richard Nixon
Preceded by	David Kennedy
Succeeded by	David Bruce
3rd Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity
In office May 27, 1969 – December 11, 1970
President	Richard Nixon
Preceded by	Bertrand Harding
Succeeded by	Frank Carlucci
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 13th district
In office January 3, 1963 – March 20, 1969
Preceded by	Marguerite Church
Succeeded by	Phil Crane
Personal details
Born	(1932-07-09) July 9, 1932 (age 79) Evanston, Illinois, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Joyce Pierson
Children	Valerie Marcy Donald
Alma mater	Princeton University Georgetown University
Signature
Website	Library website[1]
Military service
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1954–1975
Rank	Captain
Unit	Active Duty (1954–1957) Navy Reserve (1957–1975) Individual Ready Reserve (1975–1989)

Donald Henry Rumsfeld (born July 9, 1932) is an American politician and businessman. Rumsfeld served as the 13th Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and as the 21st Secretary of Defense from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush. He is both the youngest and the oldest person to have served as Secretary of Defense. Additionally, Rumsfeld was a four-term U.S. Congressman from Illinois (1962–1969), Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity (1969–1970), Counsellor to the President (1969–1973), the United States Permanent Representative to NATO (1973–1974), and White House Chief of Staff (1974–1975).

Born in Illinois, Rumsfeld attended Princeton University, graduating in 1954 with a degree in political science. After serving in the Navy for three years, he mounted a campaign for Congress in Illinois' 13th Congressional District, winning in 1962 at the age of 30. Reelected four times, he was a leading co-sponsor of the Freedom of Information Act. Rumsfeld was reluctantly appointed by President Richard Nixon to head the Office of Economic Opportunity in 1969; appointed Counselor by Nixon and entitled to Cabinet-level status, he would also head up the Economic Stabilization Program before being appointed Ambassador to NATO. Called back to Washington in August 1974, Rumsfeld was appointed Chief of Staff by President Ford, recruiting a young one-time staffer of his, Dick Cheney, to succeed him when Ford nominated Rumsfeld Secretary of Defense in 1975.

When Ford lost the 1976 election, Rumsfeld returned to private business life, and was named president of G. D. Searle & Company, a noted pharmaceutical company, during which time he led the legalization of Aspartame. He was later named CEO of General Instrument from 1990 to 1993, and chairman of Gilead Sciences from 1997 to 2001.

Rumsfeld was recommended for the position of Defense Secretary by incoming Vice President Dick Cheney in late 2000, and was appointed in January 2001 by President George W. Bush. His tenure has been noted to be one of the most pivotal in recent history; as one of the key individuals responsible for the restructuring of the military in the new 21st century, Rumsfeld was crucial in planning the United States' response to the September 11, 2001 attacks, which included two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Highly popular with the media for his outspokenness and candor, he gradually lost political support as the wars continued and resigned in late 2006.

Early life[link]

Donald Henry Rumsfeld was born on July 9, 1932, in Evanston, Illinois, to George Donald Rumsfeld and Jeannette (née Huster). His father came from a Swiss American family that had emigrated in the 1870s, and young Donald was sometimes ribbed about looking like a "tough Swiss".^[2] Growing up in Winnetka, Illinois, Rumsfeld became an Eagle Scout in 1949 and is the recipient of both the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America^[3] and its Silver Buffalo Award in 2006. He was a camp counselor at the Northeast Illinois Council's Camp Ma-Ka-Ja-Wan in the late 1940s and a ranger at Philmont Scout Ranch in 1949.^[4]

Rumsfeld's 1954 yearbook portrait from Princeton, where he played football and wrestled.

Rumsfeld attended Baker Demonstration School, a private middle school, and later graduated^[5] from New Trier High School. He attended Princeton University on academic and NROTC partial scholarships (A.B., 1954). During his time at Princeton, he was an accomplished amateur wrestler, becoming captain of the wrestling team, and captain of the Lightweight Football team playing defensive back. His Princeton University senior thesis was titled "The Steel Seizure Case of 1952 and Its Effects on Presidential Powers."^[6] While at Princeton he roomed with another future Secretary of Defense, Frank Carlucci.

Rumsfeld married his high school sweetheart Joyce H. Pierson on December 27, 1954. They have three children and six grandchildren. He attempted to get his law degree in 1956, and attended Georgetown University Law Center, but did not graduate.

Rumsfeld served in the United States Navy during peacetime, from 1954 to 1957, as a naval aviator and flight instructor. His initial training was in the North American SNJ Texan basic trainer after which he transitioned to flying the Grumman F9F Panther fighter. In 1957, he transferred to the Naval Reserve and continued his naval service in flying and administrative assignments as a drilling reservist. On 1 July 1958, he was assigned to Anti-submarine Squadron 662 at Naval Air Station Anacostia, District of Columbia, as a selective reservist.^[7] Rumsfeld was designated aircraft commander of Anti-submarine Squadron 731 on 1 October 1960, at Naval Air Station Grosse Ile, Michigan, where he flew the S2F Tracker.^[7] He transferred to the Individual Ready Reserve when he became Secretary of Defense in 1975 and retired with the rank of captain in 1989.^[8]

Career in government (1962-1977)[link]

Member of Congress[link]

In 1957, during the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration, Rumsfeld served as Administrative Assistant to David S. Dennison, Jr., a Congressman representing the 11th district of Ohio. In 1959, he moved on to become a staff assistant to Congressman Robert P. Griffin of Michigan.^[9] Engaging in a two-year stint with an investment banking firm, A. G. Becker, from 1960 to 1962,^[10] Rumsfeld would instead set his sights on becoming a member of Congress.

He was elected to the United States House of Representatives for Illinois' 13th congressional district in 1962, at the age of 30, and was re-elected by large majorities in 1964, 1966, and 1968.^[11] While in Congress, he served on the Joint Economic Committee, the Committee on Science and Aeronautics, and the Government Operations Committee, as well as on the Subcommittees on Military and Foreign Operations. He was also a co-founder of the Japanese-American Inter-Parliamentary Council^[12] in addition to being a leading cosponsor of the Freedom of Information Act.^[13]

As a young Congressman, Rumsfeld attended seminars at the University of Chicago, an experience he credits with introducing him to the idea of an all volunteer military, and to the economist Milton Friedman and the Chicago School of Economics.^[14] He would later take part in Friedman's PBS series Free to Choose.^[15]

Nixon Administration[link]

Rumsfeld with his son, Nick, in the Oval Office with President Nixon, 1973

Rumsfeld resigned from Congress in 1969 — his fourth term — to serve President Richard Nixon in his administration, and he would serve in a variety of executive branch positions throughout the Nixon presidency. In 1969, Nixon sought to reform and reorganize the United States Office of Economic Opportunity, an organization created during the Kennedy administration and greatly expanded as a part of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society programs, rather than eliminate it outright. He appointed Rumsfeld Director of the organization. Rumsfeld had voted against the creation of OEO when he was in Congress, and initially rejected president's offer, citing his own inherent belief that the OEO did more harm than good, and he felt that he was not the right person for the job.^[16] He only accepted after a personal plea from the president.

While Director of OEO, Rumsfeld sought to reorganize OEO to serve as "a laboratory for experimental programs."^[17] Several beneficial anti-poverty programs were saved by allocated funds to them from other less-successful government programs. During this time, he hired Frank Carlucci and Dick Cheney to serve under him.

He was the subject of one of legendary writer Jack Anderson's columns, alleging that "anti-poverty czar" Rumsfeld had cut programs to aid the poor while spending thousands to redecorate his office. Rumsfeld dictated a four page response to Anderson, labeling the accusations as falsehoods, and invited Anderson to tour his office. Despite the tour, Anderson did not retract his claims, and would only later admit that his column was a mistake.^[17]

When he left OEO in December 1970, President Nixon named Rumsfeld Counsellor to the President, a general advisory position that earned him Cabinet-status.^[18] He was given an office in the West Wing and now regularly interacted with the Nixon administration hierarchy. He was named Director of the Economic Stabilization Program in 1970 as well, and headed up the Cost of Living Council. In 1971 Nixon was recorded saying about Rumsfeld "at least Rummy is tough enough" and "He's a ruthless little bastard. You can be sure of that."^{[19][20][21][22][23]}

In February 1973, Rumsfeld left Washington to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Brussels, Belgium. He served as the United States' Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Council and the Defense Planning Committee, and the Nuclear Planning Group. In this capacity, he represented the United States in wide-ranging military and diplomatic matters, and was asked to help mediate a conflict on behalf of the United States between Cyprus and Turkey.^[24]

Ford Administration[link]

Chief of Staff Rumsfeld (left) and Deputy-Chief of Staff Dick Cheney (right) meet with President Ford, April 1975

In August 1974, Rumsfeld was called back to Washington to serve as transition chairman for the new president, Gerald R. Ford. He had been Ford's confidant since their days in the House when Ford was House minority leader. As the new president became settled in, Ford appointed Rumsfeld White House Chief of Staff, where he served from 1974 to 1975.

Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld shares a laugh with President Ford in a Cabinet meeting, 1975

In October 1975, Ford reshuffled his cabinet in the Halloween Massacre. He named Rumsfeld to become the 13th U.S. Secretary of Defense; George H. W. Bush became Director of Central Intelligence. According to Bob Woodward's 2002 book Bush at War, a rivalry developed between the two men and "Bush senior was convinced that Rumsfeld was pushing him out to the CIA to end his political career."^[25]

At the Pentagon, Rumsfeld oversaw the transition to an all-volunteer military. He sought to reverse the gradual decline in the defense budget and to build up U.S. strategic and conventional forces, skillfully undermining Secretary of State Henry Kissinger at the SALT talks.^[26] He asserted, along with Team B (which he helped to set up),^[27] that trends in comparative U.S.-Soviet military strength had not favored the United States for 15 to 20 years and that, if continued, they "would have the effect of injecting a fundamental instability in the world."^[8] For this reason, he oversaw the development of cruise missiles, the B-1 bomber, and a major naval shipbuilding program.^[26]

In 1977, Rumsfeld was awarded the nation's highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.^[28] Kissinger, his bureaucratic adversary, would later pay him a different sort of compliment, pronouncing him "a special Washington phenomenon: the skilled full-time politician-bureaucrat in whom ambition, ability, and substance fuse seamlessly."^[29]

Return to the private sector (1977–2000)[link]

Business career[link]

In early 1977 Rumsfeld briefly lectured at Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School and Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management, located in Chicago, Illinois near his home town of Evanston. His sights instead turned to business, and from 1977 to 1985 Rumsfeld served as Chief Executive Officer, President, and then Chairman of G. D. Searle & Company, a worldwide pharmaceutical company based in Skokie, Illinois. During his tenure at Searle, Rumsfeld led the company's financial turnaround, thereby earning awards as the Outstanding Chief Executive Officer in the Pharmaceutical Industry from the Wall Street Transcript (1980) and Financial World (1981). In 1985, Searle was sold to Monsanto Company. Rumsfeld is believed to have earned around $12 million from this sale.^[30]

Rumsfeld served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of General Instrument Corporation from 1990 to 1993. A leader in broadband transmission, distribution, and access control technologies for cable, satellite and terrestrial broadcasting applications, the company pioneered the development of the first all-digital high-definition television (HDTV) technology. After taking the company public and returning it to profitability, Rumsfeld returned to private business in late 1993.

From January 1997 until being sworn in as the 21st Secretary of Defense in January 2001, Rumsfeld served as Chairman of Gilead Sciences, Inc. Gilead Sciences is the developer of Tamiflu (Oseltamivir), which is used in the treatment of bird flu.^[31] As a result, Rumsfeld's holdings in the company grew significantly when avian flu became a subject of popular anxiety during his later term as Secretary of Defense. Following standard practice, Rumsfeld recused himself from any decisions involving Gilead, and he directed the Pentagon's General Counsel to issue instructions outlining what he could and could not be involved in if there were an avian flu pandemic and the Pentagon had to respond.^[32][33][34]

Part-time public service[link]

During his business career, Rumsfeld continued part-time public service in various posts. In November 1983, Rumsfeld was appointed Special Envoy to the Middle East by President Ronald Reagan, at a turbulent time in modern Middle Eastern history when Iraq was fighting Iran in the Iran–Iraq War. The United States wished for the conflict to end, and Rumsfeld was sent to the Middle East to serve as a mediator on behalf of the President.

As President Reagan's Special Envoy to the Middle East, Rumsfeld met with Saddam Hussein during a visit to Baghdad in December 1983, during the Iran–Iraq War (see video here).

When Rumsfeld visited Baghdad on December 20, 1983, he met Saddam Hussein at Saddam's palace and had a 90-minute discussion. They largely agreed on opposing Syria's occupation of Lebanon; preventing Syrian and Iranian expansion; and preventing arms sales to Iran. Rumsfeld suggested that if U.S.-Iraq relations could improve the U.S. might support a new oil pipeline across Jordan, which Iraq had opposed but was now willing to reconsider. Rumsfeld also informed Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz that "Our efforts to assist were inhibited by certain things that made it difficult for us ... citing the use of chemical weapons."^[35]

Rumsfeld wrote in his memoir Known and Unknown that his meeting with Hussein "has been the subject of gossip, rumors, and crackpot conspiracy theories for more than a quarter of a century... Supposedly I had been sent to see Saddam by President Reagan either to negotiate a secret oil deal, to help arm Iraq, or to make Iraq an American client state. The truth is that our encounter was more straightforward and less dramatic."^[36]

In addition to taking the position of Middle East envoy, Rumsfeld served as a member of the President's General Advisory Committee on Arms Control (1982–1986); President Reagan's Special Envoy on the Law of the Sea Treaty (1982–1983); a senior adviser to President Reagan's Panel on Strategic Systems (1983–1984); a member of the Joint Advisory Commission on U.S./Japan Relations (1983–1984); a member of the National Commission on the Public Service (1987–1990); a member of the National Economic Commission (1988–1989); a member of the Board of Visitors of the National Defense University (1988–1992); a member of the FCC's High Definition Television Advisory Committee (1992–1993); a member of the U.S. Trade Deficit Review Commission (1999–2000); a member of the Council on Foreign Relations; and Chairman of the U.S. Commission to Assess National Security Space Management and Organization (2000). Among his most noteworthy positions was Chairman of the nine-member Commission to Assess the Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States from January to July 1998. In its findings, the commission concluded that Iraq, Iran, and North Korea could develop intercontinental ballistic missile capabilities in five to ten years and that U.S. intelligence would have little warning before such systems were deployed.^[37]

During the 1980s, Rumsfeld became a member of the National Academy of Public Administration, and was named a member of the boards of trustees of the Gerald R. Ford Foundation, the Eisenhower Exchange Fellowships, the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and the National Park Foundation. He was also a member of the U.S./Russia Business Forum and Chairman of the Congressional Leadership's National Security Advisory Group.^{[citation needed]} Rumsfeld was a founder and active member of the Project for the New American Century, a neo-conservative think-tank dedicated to maintaining U.S. primacy. In addition, he served as United Way Inter-governmental Affairs Director in Washington, D.C. from 1986 to 1989 and was asked to serve the U.S. State Department as a foreign policy consultant from 1990 to 1993. He also sat on European Engineering giant Asea Brown Boveri's board from 1990 to 2001, a company which sold two light-water nuclear reactors to the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization for installation in North Korea, as part of the 1994 agreed framework reached under President Bill Clinton. Rumsfeld's office said that he did not "recall it being brought before the board at any time" though Fortune magazine reported that "board members were informed about this project."^[38]

To honor his foreign policy work, Rumsfeld was named honorary Vice-Chancellor of Yale University in 2001.^{[citation needed]}

Presidential and vice presidential aspirations[link]

During 1976 Republican National Convention, Rumsfeld received one vote for Vice President of the United States, although he did not seek the office, and the nomination was easily won by Ford's choice, Senator Bob Dole.^[39] During the 1980 Republican National Convention he also received one vote for Vice President.^[40] Economist Milton Friedman later noted that he, Friedman, regarded Reagan's pick of Bush as "the worst decision not only of his campaign but of his presidency," and that Rumsfeld was instead his preference. "Had he been chosen," Friedman said, "I believe he would have succeeded Reagan as president and the sorry Bush-Clinton period would never have occurred."^[41]

Rumsfeld briefly sought the Presidential nomination in 1988, but withdrew from the race before primaries began.^[42] During the 1996 election he initially formed a presidential exploratory committee, but declined to formally enter the race. He was instead named national chairman for Republican nominee Bob Dole's campaign.^[43]

Return to government (2001–2006)[link]

Rumsfeld is administered the oath of office as the 21st Secretary of Defense on January 20, 2001 by Director of Administration and Management David O. Cooke (left), as Joyce Rumsfeld holds the Bible in a ceremony at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building

Rumsfeld was named Secretary of Defense soon after President George W. Bush took office in 2001 despite Rumsfeld's past rivalry with the previous President Bush. Bush's first choice, FedEx founder Fred Smith, was unavailable and Vice President-elect Cheney recommended Rumsfeld for the job.^[44]

Rumsfeld's second tenure as Secretary of Defense cemented him as the most powerful Pentagon chief since Robert McNamara and one of the most influential Cabinet members in the Bush administration.^[45] His tenure would prove to be a pivotal and rocky one which led the United States military into the 21st century. Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Rumsfeld led the military planning and execution of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and the subsequent 2003 invasion of Iraq. He pushed hard to send as small a force as possible to both conflicts, a concept codified as the Rumsfeld Doctrine.

Throughout his time as Defense Secretary, Rumsfeld was noted for his candor and quick wit when giving weekly press conferences or speaking with the press.^[46] U.S. News & World Report called him "a straight-talking Midwesterner" who "routinely has the press corps doubled over in fits of laughter."^[46]

Modernizing the military[link]

Rumsfeld's initial task, as outlined by President Bush, was to modernize the military and transform it into a lighter fighting force. Once in office, Rumsfeld immediately announced a series of sweeping reviews intended to accomplish this, and developed a new strategy for defense more relevant to the 21st century. Central to his proposal was to reorganize the global command structure, otherwise known as the Unified Command, replacing it with both the U.S. Strategic Command and Northern Command systems. Strategic Command would take over responsibilities that were held by the Strategic Command and Space Command, both of which were disestablished. This plan was approved by President Bush and implemented under the oversight of Rumsfeld.^[8]

September 11, 2001[link]

"The Pentagon is functioning" was the message Rumsfeld stressed during a press conference in the Pentagon briefing room barely eight hours after terrorists crashed a hijacked commercial jetliner into the Pentagon. Rumsfeld is flanked, left to right, by Secretary of the Army Tom White, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Hugh Shelton, and Senators John Warner (R-VA), and Carl Levin (D-MI), the Ranking Member and Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Rumsfeld and New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani speak at the site of the World Trade Center attacks in Lower Manhattan on November 14, 2001

The United States was attacked on September 11, 2001 by al Qaeda terrorists who hijacked commercial airliners and crashed them in coordinated strikes into both towers of the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. The fourth plane crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and its target was likely a prominent building in Washington, D.C., most probably either the Capitol Building or the White House.^[47] Within three hours of the start of the first hijacking and two hours after American Airlines Flight 11 struck the World Trade Center, Rumsfeld raised the defense condition signaling of the United States offensive readiness to DEFCON 3, the highest it had been since the Arab-Israeli war in 1973.^[48]

On the morning of 9/11, Rumsfeld spoke at a Pentagon breakfast meeting. According to his later description to Larry King, he stated at the meeting that "sometime in the next two, four, six, eight, ten, twelve months there would be an event that would occur in the world that would be sufficiently shocking that it would remind people again how important it is to have a strong healthy defense department that contributes to... that underpins peace and stability in our world. And that is what underpins peace and stability."^[49]

After the strike on the Pentagon by American Airlines Flight 77, Rumsfeld went out to the parking lot to assist with rescue efforts.^[50] He later recalled that "I wanted to see what had happened. I wanted to see if people needed help. I went downstairs and helped for a bit with some people on stretchers. Then I came back up here and started — I realized I had to get back up here and get at it."^[49]

Military decisions in the wake of 9/11[link]

Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld (left) and the Commander of U.S. Central Command General Tommy Franks, listen to a question at the close of a Pentagon press conference on March 5, 2003. Rumsfeld and Franks gave reporters an operational update and fielded questions on the possible conflict in Iraq.

On the afternoon of September 11, Rumsfeld issued rapid orders to his aides to look for evidence of possible Iraqi involvement in regard to what had just occurred, according to notes taken by senior policy official Stephen Cambone. "Best info fast. Judge whether good enough hit S.H." — meaning Saddam Hussein — "at same time. Not only UBL" (Osama bin Laden), Cambone's notes quoted Rumsfeld as saying. "Need to move swiftly — Near term target needs — go massive — sweep it all up. Things related and not."^[51][52]

That evening, after President Bush spoke to the nation from the Oval Office, Rumsfeld recalled musing about the President's intended response to attack terrorists from whatever territory they planned and operated. He reported questioning whether that would include attacking American allies, and suggested that the problem be magnified and viewed from a broader scope. He recommended that state-sponsors of terror, including Sudan, Libya, Iraq and Iran, be considered as possible places of sanctuary if the U.S. were to attack Afghanistan.^[53]

Rumsfeld wrote in Known and Unknown, "Much has been written about the Bush administration's focus on Iraq after 9/11. Commentators have suggested that it was strange or obsessive for the President and his advisers to have raised questions about whether Saddam Hussein was somehow behind the attack. I have never understood the controversy. I had no idea if Iraq was or was not involved, but it would have been irresponsible for any administration not to have asked the question."^[54]

"Looking back on the weeks following 9/11," he wrote, "Some accounts suggest an administration that seemed to have a preordained response to the attacks. From my vantage point, however, quite the opposite was the case. It was a time of discovery–of seeking elusive, imperfect solutions for new problems that would not be solved quickly. There was no guidebook or road map for us to follow."^[55]

Afghanistan and Iraq[link]

After the war in Afghanistan was launched, Rumsfeld participated in a meeting in regard to the review of the Department of Defense's Contingency Plan in the event of a war with Iraq. The plan, as it was then conceived, contemplated troop levels of up to 500,000, which Rumsfeld felt was far too many. Gordon and Trainor wrote:

As [General] Newbold outlined the plan ... it was clear that Rumsfeld was growing increasingly irritated. For Rumsfeld, the plan required too many troops and supplies and took far too long to execute. It was, Rumsfeld declared, the "product of old thinking and the embodiment of everything that was wrong with the military."^[56]

Rumsfeld's plan resulted in a lightning invasion that took Baghdad in well under a month with very few American casualties. Many government buildings, plus major museums, electrical generation infrastructure, and even oil equipment were looted and vandalized during the transition from the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime to the establishment of the Coalition Provisional Authority. A violent insurrection began shortly after the military operation started. After the German and French governments voiced opposition to invading Iraq, Rumsfeld labeled these countries as part of "Old Europe", implying that countries that supported the war were part of a newer, modern Europe.^[57]

As a result, Rumsfeld stirred controversy as to whether the forces that did invade Iraq were enough in size.^[56] In a September 2007 interview with The Daily Telegraph, General Mike Jackson, the head of the British army during the invasion, criticized Rumsfeld's plans for the invasion of Iraq as "intellectually bankrupt," adding that Rumsfeld is "one of those most responsible for the current situation in Iraq," and that he felt that "the US approach to combating global terrorism is 'inadequate' and too focused on military might rather than nation building and diplomacy."^[58]

In 2006, Rumsfeld responded to a question by Brit Hume of Fox News as to whether he pressed General Tommy Franks to lower his request for 400,000 troops for the war:

Absolutely not. That's a mythology [sic]. This town [Washington, D.C] is filled with this kind of nonsense. The people who decide the levels of forces on the ground are not the Secretary of Defense or the President. We hear recommendations, but the recommendations are made by the combatant commanders and by members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and there hasn't been a minute in the last six years when we have not had the number of troops that the combatant commanders have requested.^[59]

Rumsfeld told Hume that Franks ultimately decided against such a troop level.^[60]

There was also controversy between Rumsfeld at the Pentagon and the CIA over who had the authority to fire Hellfire missiles from Predator drones.^[61] Even though the drones were not ready for delpyment until 2002,^[61] Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon have argued that "these quarrels kept the Predator from being used against al Qaeda.... One individual who was at the center of the action called this episode 'typical' and complained that 'Rumsfeld never missed an opportunity to fail to cooperate. The fact is, the Secretary of Defense is an obstacle. He has helped the terrorists.'^[62]

After the Iraq invasion, U.S. troops were criticized for not protecting the historical artifacts and treasures located at the National Museum of Iraq. When asked at the time why U.S. troops did not actively seek to stop the lawlessness, Rumsfeld replied, "Stuff happens... and it's untidy and freedom's untidy, and free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things. They're also free to live their lives and do wonderful things. And that's what's going to happen here."^[63] He further commented that, "The images you are seeing on television you are seeing over, and over, and over, and it's the same picture of some person walking out of some building with a vase, and you see it 20 times, and you think, "My goodness, were there that many vases?"^[63]

Secretary Rumsfeld responds to a reporter's question during a Pentagon press briefing. Rumsfeld and General Richard Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, gave reporters an operational update on Operation Iraqi Freedom on October 2, 2003.

Throughout his tenure, Rumsfeld sought to remind the American people of the 9/11 attacks and threats against Americans, noting at one time in a 2006 memo to "[m]ake the American people realize they are surrounded in the world by violent extremists."^[64][65]

As Secretary of Defense, Rumsfeld was deliberate in crafting the public message from the Department of Defense. People will "rally" to the word "sacrifice", Rumsfeld noted after a meeting. "They are looking for leadership. Sacrifice = Victory." In May 2004, Rumsfeld considered whether to redefine the war on terrorism as a fight against "worldwide insurgency." He advised aides "to test what the results could be" if the war on terrorism were renamed.^[65] Rumsfeld also ordered specific public Pentagon attacks on and responses to U.S. newspaper columns that reported the negative aspects of the war, which he often personally reviewed before they were sent.^[65]

In October 2003, Rumsfeld personally approved a secret Pentagon "roadmap" on public relations, calling for "boundaries" between information operations abroad and the news media at home. The Roadmap advances a policy according to which as long as the U.S. government does not intentionally target the American public, it does not matter that psychological operations, reach the American public.^[66]

Prisoner abuse and enhanced interrogation techniques[link]

The Department of Defense's preliminary concerns for holding, housing, and interrogating captured prisoners on the battlefield were raised during the military build-up prior to the Iraq War. Because Saddam Hussein’s military forces surrendered when faced with military action, many within the DOD, including Rumsfeld and United States Central Command General Tommy Franks, decided it was in the best interest of all to hand these prisoners over to their respective countries. Additionally, it was determined that maintaining a large holding facility was, at the time, unrealistic. Instead, the use of many facilities such as Abu Ghraib would be utilized to house prisoners prior to handing them over and Rumsfeld defended the Bush administration's decision to detain enemy combatants without protection under the Third Geneva Convention. Because of this, critics, including the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, would hold Rumsfeld responsible for the ensuing Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse scandal. Rumsfeld himself said: "These events occurred on my watch as Secretary of Defense. I am accountable for them."^[67] He offered his resignation to President Bush in the wake of the scandal, but it was not accepted.^[68]

Rumsfeld poses with Marines during one of his trips to Camp Fallujah, Iraq, on Christmas Eve 2004.

In a memo read by Rumsfeld detailing how Guantanamo interrogators would induce stress in prisoners by forcing them to remain standing in one position for a maximum of four hours, Rumsfeld scrawled a handwritten note in the margin reading: "I stand for 8-10 hours a day. Why is standing [by prisoners] limited to four hours? D.R.".^[69]

Various organizations, such as Human Rights Watch, have called for investigations of Rumsfeld regarding his involvement in managing the Iraq War and his support of the Bush administration's policies of enhanced interrogation techniques.^[70][71] In 2005 the ACLU and Human Rights First filed a lawsuit against Rumsfeld and other top government officials, "on behalf of eight men who they say were subjected to torture and abuse by U.S. forces under the command of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld."^[72] In 2005, a suit was filed against Rumsfeld by several human rights organizations for allegedly violating U.S. and international law that prohibits "torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment."^[72] Donald Vance and Nathan Ertel filed suit against the U.S. government and Rumsfeld on similar grounds, alleging that they were tortured and their rights of habeas corpus were violated.^{[73][74][75][76][77][78]} In 2007, U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan ruled that Rumsfeld could not "be held personally responsible for actions taken in connection with his government job."^[79] The ACLU tried to revive the case in 2011 with no luck.^[80]

Resignation[link]

Rumsfeld with former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher alongside the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace, 2006

Eight retired generals and admirals called for Rumsfeld to resign in early 2006 in what was called the "Generals Revolt," accusing him of "abysmal" military planning and lack of strategic competence.^[81][82][83] Commentator Pat Buchanan reported at the time that Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, who traveled often to Iraq and supported the war, claimed that the generals' and admirals' views mirror those of 75 percent of the officers in the field, and probably more."^[84] Rumsfeld rebuffed these criticisms, stating that "out of thousands and thousands of admirals and generals, if every time two or three people disagreed we changed the secretary of defense of the United States, it would be like a merry-go-round."^[85] Bush defended his secretary throughout, and responded by stating that Rumsfeld is "exactly what is needed".^[86]

Rumsfeld shakes President Bush's hand as he announces his resignation, November 8, 2006.

On November 1, 2006, Bush stated he would stand by Rumsfeld as defense secretary for the length of his term as president.^[87] Rumsfeld wrote a resignation letter dated November 6, and, per the stamp on the letter, Bush saw it on Election Day, November 7.^[88] In the elections, the House and the Senate shifted to Democratic control. After the elections, on November 8, Bush announced Rumsfeld would resign his position as Secretary of Defense. Many Republicans were unhappy with the delay, believing they would have won more votes if voters had known Rumsfeld was resigning.^[88]

Bush nominated Robert Gates to succeed Rumsfeld^[89][90][91] and at a press conference announcing Rumsfeld's resignation and Gates' nomination, Bush remarked, "America is safer and the world is more secure because of the service and the leadership of Donald Rumsfeld."^[92]

On December 18, 2006, Rumsfeld's resignation took effect. One of his last actions as defense secretary was to pay a surprise visit to Iraq on December 10, 2006, to bid farewell to the United States military serving there.^[93] In a farewell ceremony on December 16, 2006, Rumsfeld's long-time political ally Vice President Dick Cheney, who worked with him in the Ford administration and who also had served as a secretary of defense, called the secretary "the finest secretary of defense this nation has ever had."

Including his time serving as the 13th Secretary of Defense under Ford from 1975 to 1977, Rumsfeld is the second-longest-serving Secretary of Defense in history, falling nine days short of the term of the longest-serving Pentagon chief, the Vietnam-era Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara.

Retirement and later life (2006–present)[link]

Rumsfeld shares a laugh with his successor, Robert Gates, at a ceremony to unveil his official portrait as Secretary of Defense, June 25, 2010

In the months after his resignation, Rumsfeld toured the New York publishing houses in preparation for a potential memoir.^[94] After receiving what one industry source labeled "big bids", he reached an agreement with the Penguin Group to publish the book under its Sentinel HC imprint.

In 2007, Rumsfeld established The Rumsfeld Foundation, an educational foundation that provides fellowships to talented individuals from the private sector who want to serve for some time in government.^[95] Rumsfeld personally financed the foundation.^[96] The foundation has granted over 50 fellowships to graduate students from Central Asia, provided over $2.1 million in microfinance grants, and donated over $200,000 to charities for veterans affairs.^[95]

In September 2007, Rumsfeld received a one-year appointment as a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University,^[97] joining (among others) retired army General John P. Abizaid, former commander of U.S. Central Command, and fellow conservatives George Shultz and Newt Gingrich. He participated in the institution's new task force studying post–September 11 ideology and non-state terror.^{[citation needed]}

Rumsfeld declined to accept an advance for the publication of his memoir, and has said he is donating any proceeds from the work to veterans groups.^[95] His book, entitled Known and Unknown: A Memoir, was released on February 8, 2011.^[98]

In conjunction with the publication of Known and Unknown, Rumsfeld established "The Rumsfeld Papers", a website with documents "related to the endnotes" of the book and his service during the George W. Bush administration;^[1] during the months that followed the book's publication, the website is being expanded to include "a number of other documents from [his] archive"; as of June 2011,^{[dated info]} the topics include his Congressional voting record, the Nixon administration, documents and memos of meetings while he was part of the Ford administration, private sector documents, and NATO documents, among others.^[1]

Rumsfeld was awarded the "Defender of the Constitution Award" at the 2011 Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C., on February 10, 2011. After leaving office, Rumsfeld repeatedly criticized former fellow Cabinet member Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State. In 2011 she finally responded, saying that Rumsfeld "doesn't know what he's talking about."^[99]

Electoral history[link]

During the four elections during which he ran to represent Illinois's 13th congressional district, Rumsfeld received shares of the popular vote that ranged from 57.82% (in 1964) to 76.01% (in 1966). In 1975 and 2001, Rumsfeld was overwhelmingly confirmed by the U.S. Senate after Presidents Gerald Ford and George W. Bush, respectively, appointed him as U.S. Secretary of Defense.

Awards[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2011)

Rumsfeld has been awarded 11 honorary degrees.^{[citation needed]} Following his years as CEO, president, and later chairman of G. D. Searle & Company, he was recognized as Outstanding CEO in the pharmaceutical industry by the Wall Street Transcript (1980) and Financial World (1981).^{[citation needed]}

His other awards include:

• The Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Ford (1977)
• Royal Order of the Intare by King Kigeli V of Rwanda
• George C. Marshall Medal by the U.S. Army Association (1984)
• Woodrow Wilson Medal by Princeton University (1985)
• Dwight D. Eisenhower Medal (1993)
• Lone Sailor Award by the U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation (2002)
• Statesmanship Award by the U.S. Assoc of Former Members of Congress (2003)
• James H. Doolittle Award by the Hudson Institute (2003)
• Gerald R. Ford Medal presented by President Ford and the Ford Foundation (2004)^[100]
• Distinguished Eagle Scout Award by the Boy Scouts of America
• Union League of Philadelphia Gold Medal for Citizenship (2006)
• Claremont Institute Statesmanship Award (2007)
• Victory of Freedom Award from the Richard Nixon Foundation (2010)^[101]
• Order of Anthony Wayne from Valley Forge Military Academy

Affiliation history[link]

Institutional affiliations[link]

• Center for Security Policy: Longtime associate; winner of the CSP's 1998 "Keeper of the Flame" award (5)
• Hoover Institution: Member, board of trustees
• Project for the New American Century: Signed PNAC's founding statement of principles as well as two policy letters on Iraq
• Freedom House: Board member
• RAND Corporation: Board member
• Committee for the Free World: Former chairman
• Bohemian Club: Member

Government posts, panels, and commissions[link]

• Secretary of Defense (2001–06)
• U.S. Commission to Assess National Security Space Management and Organization: Chairman (2000)
• U.S. Ballistic Missile Threat Commission: Chairman (1998)
• Secretary of Defense (1975–77)
• White House Chief of Staff in Ford administration (1974–75)
• U.S. Ambassador to NATO (1973–74)
• U.S. Congress: Representative from Illinois (1962–69)
• United States Navy: Various posts, including aviator (1954–57); reserves (1957–1975) Retired as a Navy Captain (1989)

Corporate connections and business interests[link]

• Gilead Sciences: joined Gilead as a director in 1988 Chairman (1997–2001)
• General Instrument Corporation: Chairman and CEO (1990–93)
• G.D. Searle pharmaceutical company: CEO/Chairman/President (1977–1985)
• Bechtel Corporation: Was involved in Iraq-Bechtel negotiations in the 1980s on a pipeline project
• Gulfstream Aerospace: Former director
• Tribune Company: Former director
• Metricom, Inc.: Former director
• Sears, Roebuck and Co.: Former director
• ABB AB: Former director
• Kellogg Company: director 1985–199? while Carlos Gutierrez (x Cuba 1960) president CEO and chairman Kellogg until named Secretary Commerce under Bush from 2005
• RAND Corporation: Chairman of Board from 1981–1986; 1995–1996
• Bilderberg Group: Member^{[citation needed]}
• Amylin Pharmaceuticals: Former director

Education[link]

• Princeton University: A.B. (1954)

Intellectual heritage[link]

• John Boyd of OODA Loop fame.

See also[link]

	United States portal
	Switzerland portal
	Biography portal

• Agathidium rumsfeldi — the naming of a beetle in homage to Rumsfeld
• Hillbilly armor — Rumsfeld questioned by a soldier about the use of "ad hoc" armor
• 'Known knowns' - quotation
• Known and Unknown: A Memoir, Rumsfeld's memoir of his life

Footnotes[link]

Works[link]

• Rumsfeld, Donald (2011). Known and Unknown: A Memoir. Sentinel. ISBN 978-1-59523-067-6. 
• Rumsfeld, Donald (1988). Strategic imperatives in East Asia. Heritage lectures, no. 605. Washington, D.C.: Heritage Foundation.  Speech given Mar. 3, 1998 in Washington, D.C.

References[link]

• By His Own Rules: The Ambitions, Successes, and Ultimate Failures of Donald Rumsfeld by Bradley Graham (PublicAffairs, 2009) ISBN 978-1-58648-421-7
• Rumsfeld's War: The Untold Story of America's Anti-Terrorist Commander by Rowan Scarborough (Regnery Publishing, 2004) ISBN 0-89526-069-7
• Rumsfeld: A Personal Portrait by Midge Decter (Regan Books, 2003) ISBN 0-06-056091-6
• The Rumsfeld Way: The Leadership Wisdom of a Battle-Hardened Maverick by Jeffrey A. Krames (McGraw-Hill, 2002) ISBN 0-07-140641-7
• Hoehn, Andrew R. Albert A. Robbert, Margaret C. Harrell (2011). Succession management for senior military positions : the Rumsfeld model for Secretary of Defense involvement. Santa Monica, CA: RAND. ISBN 978-0-8330-5228-5. 
• Rumsfeld: His Rise, Fall, and Catastrophic Legacy by Andrew Cockburn (Scribners, 2007) ISBN 1-4165-3574-8
• Decision Points by George W. Bush (Crown, 2010) ISBN 978-0-307-59061-9

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Donald Rumsfeld

Wikisource has original works written by or about: Donald Rumsfeld

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Donald Rumsfeld

Works[link]

• The Rumsfeld Papers, his official website
• U.S. Secretary of Defense official transcripts archive
• Rumsfeld's Rules advice on government, business and life, January 29, 2001
• Donald Rumsfeld's Project Syndicate op/eds
• Known and Unknown: A Memoir by Donald Rumsfeld (2011)

Government service[link]

• White House Biography
• Department of Defense Biography
• Donald Rumsfeld at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Appearances on Charlie Rose
• Appearances at the Internet Movie Database
• Works by or about Donald Rumsfeld in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Donald Rumsfeld collected news and commentary at Al Jazeera English
• Donald Rumsfeld collected news and commentary at The Guardian
• Donald Rumsfeld collected news and commentary at The Jerusalem Post
• Donald Rumsfeld collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Donald Rumsfeld collected news and commentary at The Wall Street Journal

Documentary video[link]

• Video clip of Rumsfeld (as special U.S. envoy to Middle East) meeting Hussein
• The short film A View from the White House, Part I (1975) is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
• The short film A View from the White House, Part II (1975) is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
• The short film A Single Six Year Term for President (1987) is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
• The short film Money, Television, and Politics (1988) is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
• The short film The Private Lives of Public Servants (1989) is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
• PBS Frontline — Rumsfeld's War October 2004 documentary

Articles profiling Rumsfeld[link]

• The Life and Times of Donald Rumsfeld, PBS
• Washington Post — Rumsfeld's War archives 2001–04
• Rumsfeld revealed, Vivienne Heines. The Air Force Times, 3 March 2003
• Close-Up: Young Rumsfeld, James Mann, The Atlantic Monthly, November 2003
• The Donald Rumsfeld Library of Quotations, BBC Radio 4
• Biographer Andrew Cockburn on Rumsfeld at London Frontline Club May 2007.
• The Don: A Look at Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Carol Felsenthal, Chicago magazine.
• Lunch with the FT: Donald Rumsfeld by Gideon Rachman, Financial Times, February 11, 2011

v t e Secretaries of Defense of the United States of America Forrestal Johnson Marshall Lovett Wilson McElroy T. Gates McNamara Clifford Laird Richardson Schlesinger Rumsfeld Brown Weinberger Carlucci Cheney Aspin Perry Cohen Rumsfeld Gates Panetta

v t e White House Chiefs of Staff John Steelman • Sherman Adams • Wilton Persons • Marvin Watson • H. R. Haldeman • Alexander Haig • Donald Rumsfeld • Dick Cheney • Hamilton Jordan • Jack Watson • James Baker • Donald Regan • Howard Baker • Kenneth Duberstein • John Sununu • Samuel Skinner • James Baker • Mack McLarty • Leon Panetta • Erskine Bowles • John Podesta • Andrew Card • Joshua Bolten • Rahm Emanuel • William Daley • Jacob Lew

v t e United States Permanent Representatives to NATO William H. Draper, Jr. · John C. Hughes · George W. Perkins · Warren R. Burgess · Thomas K. Finletter · Harlan Cleveland · Robert F. Ellsworth · David M. Kennedy · Donald Rumsfeld · David K. E. Bruce · Robert Strausz-Hupé · William T. Bennett · David M. Abshire · Alton G. Keel, Jr. · William Howard Taft IV · Reginald Bartholomew · Robert E. Hunter · Alexander Vershbow · R. Nicholas Burns · Victoria Nuland · Kurt Volker · Ivo Daalder

v t e Cabinet of President George W. Bush (2001–2009)   Cabinet Secretary of State Colin Powell (2001–2005) Condoleezza Rice (2005–2009) Secretary of the Treasury Paul O'Neill (2001–2002) John W. Snow (2003–2006) Henry Paulson (2006–2009) Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (2001–2006) Robert Gates (2006–2009) Attorney General John Ashcroft (2001–2005) Alberto Gonzales (2005–2007) Michael Mukasey (2007–2009) Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton (2001–2006) Dirk Kempthorne (2006–2009) Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman (2001–2005) Mike Johanns (2005–2007) Ed Schafer (2008–2009) Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans (2001–2005) Carlos Gutierrez (2005–2009) Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao (2001–2009) Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson (2001–2005) Mike Leavitt (2005–2009) Secretary of Education Rod Paige (2001–2005) Margaret Spellings (2005–2009) Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Mel Martinez (2001–2003) Alphonso Jackson (2003–2008) Steve Preston (2008–2009) Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta (2001–2006) Mary Peters (2006–2009) Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham (2001–2005) Samuel Bodman (2005–2009) Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi (2001–2005) Jim Nicholson (2005–2007) James Peake (2007–2009) Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge (2003–2005) Michael Chertoff (2005–2009)   Cabinet-level Vice President Dick Cheney (2001–2009) White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card (2001–2006) Joshua Bolten (2006–2009) Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Christine Todd Whitman (2001–2003) Mike Leavitt (2003–2005) Stephen L. Johnson (2005–2009) Director of the Office of Management and Budget Mitch Daniels (2001–2003) Joshua Bolten (2003–2006) Rob Portman (2006–2007) Jim Nussle (2007–2009) Director of National Drug Control Policy John P. Walters (2001–2009) Trade Representative Robert Zoellick (2001–2005) Rob Portman (2005–2006) Susan Schwab (2006–2009)

v t e Cabinet of President Gerald Ford (1974–1977)   Cabinet Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (1974–1977) Secretary of the Treasury William E. Simon (1974–1977) Secretary of Defense James R. Schlesinger (1974–1975) Donald Rumsfeld (1975–1977) Attorney General William Saxbe (1974–1975) Edward Levi (1975–1977) Secretary of the Interior Rogers Morton (1974–1975) Stanley K. Hathaway (1975) Thomas S. Kleppe (1975–1977) Secretary of the Agriculture Earl Butz (1974–1976) John Albert Knebel (1976–1977) Secretary of Commerce Frederick B. Dent (1974–1975) Rogers Morton (1975) Elliot Richardson (1975–1977) Secretary of Labor Peter J. Brennan (1974–1975) John Thomas Dunlop (1975–1976) William Usery, Jr. (1976–1977) Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare Caspar Weinberger (1974–1975) F. David Mathews (1975–1977) Secretary of Housing and Urban Development James Thomas Lynn (1974–1975) Carla Anderson Hills (1975–1977) Secretary of Transportation Claude Brinegar (1974–1975) William Thaddeus Coleman, Jr. (1975–1977)   Cabinet-level Vice President None (1974) Nelson Rockefeller (1974–1977) Ambassador to the United Nations John A. Scali (1974–1975) Daniel Patrick Moynihan (1975–1976) William W. Scranton (1976–1977) Director of the Office of Management and Budget Roy Ash (1974 – 1975) James Thomas Lynn (1975–1976) Special Representative for Trade Negotiations Frederick B. Dent (1975 – 1977)

His Eminence  Timothy Michael Dolan
Cardinal-Archbishop of New York
Province	New York
Diocese	New York
See	New York
Appointed	February 23, 2009
Enthroned	April 15, 2009 (&100000000000000030000003 years, &1000000000000006800000068 days)
Predecessor	Edward Egan
Other posts	Cardinal-Priest of Nostra Signora di Guadalupe a Monte Mario President of the United States Conference of Bishops
Orders
Ordination	June 19, 1976 by Edward Thomas O'Meara
Consecration	August 15, 2001 by Justin Francis Rigali
Created Cardinal	February 18, 2012
Rank	Cardinal-Priest
Personal details
Born	(1950-02-06) February 6, 1950 (age 62) St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Nationality	American
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Previous post	Auxiliary Bishop of St. Louis (2001–2002) Archbishop of Milwaukee (2002–2009)
Motto	Ad Quem Ibimus
Coat of arms	Timothy Michael Dolan's coat of arms

Timothy Michael Dolan (born February 6, 1950) is an American Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Appointed by Pope Benedict XVI, Dolan is the tenth and current Archbishop of New York. Dolan also currently serves as the President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and was granted the titular position as Archpriest of Nostra Signora di Guadalupe a Monte Mario (English: Our Lady of Guadalupe of Mount Mario) in Rome.

Dolan is widely known for his conservative values and charismatic media personality. He previously served as Archbishop of Milwaukee from 2002–2009, preceded by service as an Auxiliary Bishop of St. Louis from 2001–2002. On Wednesday, April 18, 2012 Dolan was named on Time Magazine list of the "100 Most Influential People in the World" for 2012.

The eldest of five children, Timothy Dolan was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to Robert (d. 1977) and Shirley (née Radcliffe) Dolan.^[1] His father was an aircraft engineer, working as a floor supervisor at McDonnell Douglas.^[2][3] He has two brothers, one of whom is a former radio talk-show host,^[4] and two sisters. The family later moved to Ballwin, where they attended Holy Infant Roman Catholic Church.^[5] He exhibited a strong interest in the Roman Catholic priesthood from an early age, once saying, "I can never remember a time I didn't want to be a priest."^[6] He would also pretend to celebrate Mass as a child.^[7]

Dolan entered Saint Louis Preparatory Seminary in Shrewsbury, Missouri in 1964, and later obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from Cardinal Glennon College. He was sent by Cardinal John Carberry to further his studies in Rome, where he attended the Pontifical North American College and the Angelicum, earning a Licentiate of Sacred Theology.

Priesthood[link]

Dolan was ordained a priest by Edward O'Meara (Archbishop of Indianapolis, then Auxiliary Bishop of St. Louis) on June 19, 1976. He then served as an associate pastor at Cure' of Ars in Shrewsbury and Immacolata Roman Catholic Parish in Richmond Heights until 1979. From there he began his doctoral studies at the Catholic University of America under John Tracy Ellis with a concentration on the history of the Church in America; his thesis centered on Edwin Vincent O'Hara (Archbishop).^[1] Dolan performed pastoral work upon his return to Missouri from 1983 to 1987. During this time he collaborated with Archbishop John May in reforming the archdiocesan seminary.

He was then named secretary of the Apostolic Nunciature in Washington, D.C., serving as a liaison between American dioceses and the nunciature.^[6] In 1992, Dolan was appointed Vice-Rector of his alma mater Kenrick-Glennon Seminary, where he also served as spiritual director and taught Church history. He was also an adjunct professor of theology at St. Louis University.

From 1994 until June 2001, Dolan held the office of Rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome.^[8] During his tenure he published Priests for the Third Millennium, and taught at the Pontifical Gregorian University and the Angelicum.^[6] He was also raised to the rank of Monsignor in 1994.^[9]

Episcopal career[link]

Auxiliary Bishop of St. Louis[link]

On June 19, 2001, Dolan was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of St. Louis and Titular Bishop of Natchesium by Pope John Paul II. He received his episcopal consecration on the following August 15 from Archbishop Justin Rigali, with Bishops Joseph Naumann and Michael Sheridan serving as co-consecrators. He chose as his episcopal motto: Ad Quem Ibimus, meaning, "Lord, To Whom Shall We Go?" (John 6:68)^[1]

Archbishop of Milwaukee[link]

On June 25, 2002, Dolan was named the tenth Archbishop of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was formally installed at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist on August 28, 2002. Dolan said he was challenged and haunted by the sexual abuse scandal in that diocese, which broke during his tenure^[10] There were over 8,000 reports of abuse by in excess of 100 staff.^[11]

He took a special interest in priests and vocations,^[12][13] and the number of seminary enrollments also rose during his tenure. In an outdoor Mass in September 2002, Dolan wore a "cheesehead" hat in tribute to the Green Bay Packers during his homily.^[14] He also wrote Called to Be Holy (2005) and To Whom Shall We Go? Lessons from the Apostle Peter (2008), and co-hosted a television program with his brother called Living Our Faith.^[7]

In June 2012 it was revealed that Dolan "authorized payments of as much as $20,000 to sexually abusive priests as an incentive for them to agree to dismissal from the priesthood when he was the archbishop of Milwaukee" and that " a document unearthed during bankruptcy proceedings for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and made public by victims’ advocates reveals that the archdiocese did make such payments to multiple accused priests to encourage them to seek dismissal, thereby allowing the church to remove them from the payroll".^[15]

Archbishop of New York[link]

On February 23, 2009, Dolan was appointed the tenth Archbishop of New York by Pope Benedict XVI.^[16] The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, the nation's second-largest after the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, serves over 2.5 million Roman Catholics.^[16] He succeeded Cardinal Edward Egan, who reached the mandatory retirement age of 75 in 2007. According to Dolan, he was informed of his appointment "nine, ten days" prior to the official announcement.^[3] Recalling the phone call he received from Apostolic Nuncio Pietro Sambi, as opposed to his appointments as Auxiliary Roman Catholic Bishop of St. Louis and Archbishop of Milwaukee when Dolan was told that the Pope "would like [him] to" take the posts, he said that Sambi "was quite factual" in that he told him that "the Pope had appointed [him]" to New York, giving Dolan little choice other than to accept.^[3]

The last time an Archbishop of New York was named without previously holding an office in the archdiocese's ranks came in 1939, when Pope Pius XII tapped close friend and then-Auxiliary Bishop Francis Spellman of the Archdiocese of Boston; before his own appointment, Cardinal John Joseph O'Connor had served as an auxiliary to Cardinal Terence Cooke in the latter's capacity as head of the military ordinariate, not as Archbishop of New York.

Before Dolan's appointment, his name had been repeatedly mentioned as a possible successor to Cardinal Egan.,^[17][18][19] but he downplayed such speculation, saying, "Anytime there's kind of a major see that opens, what have we seen with Washington, Baltimore, Detroit, now New York, my name for some reason comes up. I'm flattered."^[20] John Allen, Jr., Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter, has noted that Pope Benedict's appointment of Dolan, like those of Donald Wuerl, Edwin O'Brien, and Dennis Schnurr, follows a pattern of choosing prelates "who are basically conservative in both their politics and their theology, but also upbeat, pastoral figures given to dialogue."^[21]

Dolan was formally installed as Archbishop of New York at St. Patrick's Cathedral on Easter Wednesday, April 15, 2009. He wore the pectoral cross used by his earlier predecessor John Hughes.^[22] In attendance were eleven cardinals and several New York elected officials.^[23]

Dolan received the pallium, a vestment worn by metropolitan bishops, from Pope Benedict XVI on June 29, 2009, in a ceremony at St. Peter's Basilica.^[24]

He served as chairman of the board of directors of Catholic Relief Services (in which capacity he visited Ethiopia and India^[25]) until his election as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and he remains a member of the Board of Trustees of The Catholic University of America. Within the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, he chairs the Priestly Life and Ministry Committee and sits on the Subcommittee on the Church in Africa. In November 2007, he lost the election for Vice President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, being defeated by Bishop Gerald Kicanas by a margin of twenty-two votes.

Dolan is also the apostolic visitor to Irish seminaries as part of the Apostolic visitation to Ireland following the publication of the Ryan and Murphy Reports in 2009. Dolan will form part of a team that will include Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the cardinal-archbishop emeritus of Westminster, who will inspect Cardinal Brady's archdiocese of Armagh, and Cardinal O'Malley of Boston who is to inspect Dublin. Toronto's Archbishop Thomas Christopher Collins will investigate Cashel, while Ottawa's Archbishop Terrence Prendergast will look at the archdiocese of Tuam. Following the conclusion, he will report their findings directly to Pope Benedict XVI.^[26]

On January 5, 2011, he was appointed among the first members of the newly created Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation.^[27] On 29 December 2011 he was appointed a member of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications for a five-year renewable term.^[28] On 21 April 2011 he was appointed a member of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.^[29]

In 2012, Dolan expressed his public disappointment in the HHS Mandate promulgated by American President Barack Obama. In a televised CBS interview, Dolan condemned the interference of the government in, what he viewed, as dismissal of right to religious conscience and religious freedom regarding the mandatory compulsion of religious groups and organizations to provide abortifacient drugs and contraception insurance coverage to its hired employees, while at the same time against the moral tenets of the Roman Catholic faith^[30] After Barack Obama revised the rule, Dolan said the "first decision was a terribly misguided judgment" and said the new rule was "a first step".^[31]

On January 24, 2012, Dolan went on a religious pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where he met Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal and various other Orthodox patriarchs.^[32][33]

President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops[link]

Dolan was elected on November 16, 2010, to the presidency of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, becoming the first New York bishop to attain the post. Dolan replaced Cardinal Francis George, who did not run for re-election. In a vote of 128–111, Dolan beat out nine others, including Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas of Tucson, Arizona, to win the three-year term.^[34] Dolan took office two days later.

Elevation into the College of Cardinals[link]

On January 6, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI announced that Dolan would be created a cardinal at the consistory of the Church held on February 18, 2012.^[35] Archbishop Dolan was formally elevated to the cardinalate by Pope Benedict XVI on February 18, 2012, receiving the traditional red biretta and gold ring during a ceremony in Saint Peter's Basilica.^[36] The day prior, he addressed the pope and the College of Cardinals on spreading the faith in a secularized world.^[37] He was created Cardinal-Priest of Nostra Signora di Guadalupe a Monte Mario. The position was still held by Cardinal Egan, Dolan was the first archbishop of New York not to receive the titular church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo since 1946.

Views[link]

Abortion[link]

He has expressed his full intentions of using his prominent new post as a pulpit to advocate doctrinal views on such national social issues as abortion.^[38] During his installation homily, he received a standing ovation after speaking of the Church's mission "to embrace and protect the dignity of every human person, the sanctity of human life, from the tiny baby in the womb to the last moment of natural passing into eternal life."^[22][23]

During the 2008 presidential election, Dolan rebuked Democratic vice-presidential candidate then-U.S. Senator Joe Biden and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi for "misrepresenting timeless Church doctrine" on abortion, which Dolan called the "premier civil rights issue of our day."^[17] However, he opposes denying Communion to pro-choice elected officials.^[39]

In March 2009, Dolan noted that U.S. President Barack Obama has "taken a position very much at odds with the Church" regarding abortion, said the University of Notre Dame made a "big mistake" in selecting Obama to deliver its graduation ceremony's commencement speech.^[40]

Clerical celibacy[link]

In 2003, after a group of Milwaukee priests petitioned to make clerical celibacy optional,^[41] Dolan expressed his belief in celibacy "not just because I'm 'supposed to,' or reluctantly 'have to,' but because I want to."^[42] He further defended celibacy against its critics, saying, "The recent sad scandal of clerical sexual abuse of minors, as the professionals have documented, has nothing to do with our celibate commitment."^[42]

Conscience rights[link]

In November 2009, Dolan signed an ecumenical statement known as the Manhattan Declaration calling on evangelicals, Roman Catholics and Orthodox not to comply with rules and laws permitting abortion, same-sex marriage and other matters that go against their religious consciences.^[43]

Homosexuals and the priesthood[link]

In 2005, the Vatican issued an Instruction that deals with admitting same-sex attracted men to seminaries or Holy Orders which says men who "practice homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called 'gay culture'" are incompatible with Holy Orders and cannot be admitted to the seminary or to Holy Orders.^[44] Commenting on that document, Dolan has been quoted as saying that a homosexual who exhibits none of those criteria and feels he may have a vocation "shouldn't be discouraged" from becoming a seminarian.^[45]

In a 2001 interview on the subject, while rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome, he is quoted as saying that Seminary formators owe it to the Church to be vigilant, never allowing a man to be ordained who gives any evidence of tendencies to sexual immorality and being very blunt in holding up to their men the clear expectations of Jesus and his Church.^[46] He said formators must present the beauty of celibacy but at the same time be candid about the dangers to celibate commitment, including a homosexual inclination.^[46] He further said that formators must be sure that candidates accept that they are both embracing a life of generous love in selfless service to the Church and that they are leaving behind all genital expression, alone or with others, male or female, in thought, word and deed.^[46]

Iraq war[link]

While noting that the "Church has weighed in" against the war in Iraq and capital punishment, Dolan defended not publicly opposing President George W. Bush's earlier appearance at Notre Dame by saying, "Where President Bush would have taken positions on those two hot-button issues that I'd be uncomfortable with, namely the war and capital punishment, I would have to give him the benefit of the doubt to say that those two issues are open to some discussion and are not intrinsically evil...In the Catholic mindset, that would not apply to abortion."^[47] He later said he will challenge any suggestion that Roman Catholics are unenlightened because they oppose gay marriage and abortion.^[48]

Marriage[link]

In an interview with the New York Post on April 22, 2009, Dolan reasserted the Catholic Church's opposition to legalizing same-sex marriage. Dolan said, "There is an in-built code of right and wrong that is imbedded in the human DNA...Hard-wired into us is a dictionary, and the dictionary defines marriage as between one man, one woman for life, please God, leading to the procreation of human life. And if we begin to tamper with the very definition of marriage, then we're going to be in big trouble."^[47][49] Describing the Church's position as not "anti-gay," he said, "We're pro-the most basic definition of marriage."

In a blog post in June 2011, Dolan compared a proposal to redefine marriage in the State of New York to life in China or North Korea, where "government presumes daily to 'redefine' rights, relationships, values and natural law." "Please, not here!" Dolan continued. "We cherish true freedom, not as the license to do whatever we want, but the liberty to do what we ought."^[50]

In July 2011 the United States Department of Justice filed a brief in court arguing that the Defense of Marriage Act "should be struck down as a form of sexual orientation discrimination." On September 20, 2011, Dolan cited this brief in a letter along with an analysis by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops as evidence that the Justice Department "has shifted...to actively attacking DOMA's constitutionality." Dolan predicted current federal actions would "precipitate a national conflict between church and state of enormous proportions and to the detriment of both institutions."^[51] USA Today said this "appears to signal an escalation in their battle against gay marriage."^[52]

Contraception[link]

Dolan, as president of the USCCB, sharply criticized the decision by the Obama administration in which it "ordered almost every employer and insurer in the country to provide sterilization and contraceptives, including some abortion-inducing drugs, in their health plans....Never before has the federal government forced individuals and organizations to go out into the marketplace and buy a product that violates their conscience. This shouldn't happen in a land where free exercise of religion ranks first in the Bill of Rights." He urged Catholics and the public at large to speak out in protest. He went on to say “Let your elected leaders know that you want religious liberty and rights of conscience restored and that you want the administration’s contraceptive mandate rescinded,”.^[53]

Largely because of his work as USCCB President on this issue, he was named to the 2012 Time 100's list of leaders.

Sexual abuse scandal[link]

As an auxiliary Roman Catholic bishop, Dolan was criticized for his handling of Roman Catholic priests accused of sexual misconduct, accused of being on a "witch hunt" to dismiss abusive priests.^[6] He spoke with parishes, victims, and the media about the scandals, and invited victims of clerical abuse to come forward.^[6] Commenting on his meetings with them, Dolan said, "...[i]t is impossible to exaggerate the gravity of the situation, and the suffering that victims feel, because I've spent the last four months being with them, crying with them, having them express their anger to me."^[54] In 2011, Dolan thanked Bill Donohue for a press release, reproduced on the Archdiocese of New York website, in which Donahue referred to the non-profit support group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests a "phony victims' group".^[55] He has also paid some individual abusive priests upward of $20,000 rather than reporting them to the proper authorities, as almost any other institution, such as a school or a day care center, would do. Dolan has lied about these payments, previously calling the accusation "false, preposterous, and unjust". ^[56]

Theology[link]

Dolan is considered to be theologically conservative,^{[2][21][54][57]} but once stated, "Titles of liberal and conservative don't cut much mustard with me."^[54] He is also seen as energetic and media-savvy,^[58] with a "gregarious pastoral style."^[59] As one Marquette University professor said, he "is with Rome on the big issues and on the little ones, but he does not do it in a dictatorial fashion."^[2]

World trade center attacks aftermath[link]

Dolan visited Ground Zero, the site of the September 11 attacks, on the following April 24.^[60] After reciting the same prayer used by Benedict XVI during his visit to the United States, Dolan remarked, "We will never stop crying. But it's also about September 12 and all the renewal, the rebuilding, hope, solidarity and compassion that symbolized this great community and still does."^[60] Dolan condemned as a miscarriage of justice the release of the convicted Lockerbie bomber al-Megrahi and his reception in Libya.

Episcopal succession[link]

Published books[link]

• Dolan, Timothy M. (1992). Some Seed Fell on Good Ground – The Life of Edwin V. O'Hara. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press. ISBN 978-0-8132-0748-3.
• Dolan, Timothy Michael (circa 1993). A Century of Papal Representation in the United States. South Orange, New Jersey: Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology of Seton Hall University. OCLC 3822-1938.
• Dolan, Monsignor Timothy M. (2000). Priests For The Third Millennium. Huntington, Indiana: Our Sunday Visitor. ISBN 978-0-87973-319-3. (A collection of talks given to the seminarians and priests at the Pontifical North American College, a school in Rome, Italy, for Roman Catholic seminarians and priests.)
• Dolan, Timothy M.; Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis (2001). Archdiocese of St. Louis – Three Centuries of Catholicism, 1700–2000. Strasbourg, France: Editions du Signe. ISBN 978-2-7468-0353-4.
• Dolan, Archbishop Timothy M. (2005). Called to Be Holy. Huntington, Indiana: Our Sunday Visitor. ISBN 978-1-59276-072-5.
• Dolan, Archbishop Timothy M. (2007). Advent Reflections – Come, Lord Jesus!. Huntington, Indiana: Our Sunday Visitor. ISBN 978-1-59276-393-1.
• Dolan, Archbishop Timothy M. (2009). Doers of the Word – Putting Your Faith into Practice. Huntington, Indiana: Our Sunday Visitor. ISBN 978-1-59276-639-0.
• Dolan, Archbishop Timothy M. (2009). To Whom Shall We Go? – Lessons from the Apostle Peter. Huntington, Indiana: Our Sunday Visitor. ISBN 978-1-59276-050-3.

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	Catholicism portal

• List of the Catholic bishops of the United States

References[link]

External links[link]

• [4] at the Archdiocese of New York website
• Timothy Dolan, Catholic Hierarchy
• Article on Dolan's installation as archbishop from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
• Living Our Faith: Outreach initiative and weekly television show featuring Archbishop Dolan
• Priestly Life and Ministry Committee, at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website
• Subcommittee on the Church in Africa, at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website

v t e Ordinaries of the Archdiocese of New York Bishops R. Luke Concanen John Connolly John Dubois Archbishops John Hughes John McCloskey Michael Corrigan John Murphy Farley Patrick Joseph Hayes Francis Spellman Terence Cooke John Joseph O'Connor Edward Egan Timothy M. Dolan

Jill Abramson
Born	Jill Ellen Abramson (1954-03-19) March 19, 1954 (age 58) New York City, United States
Occupation	journalist, editor, author
Notable credit(s)	The New York Times (1997–present) The Wall Street Journal (1988–1997) The American Lawyer (1977–1986) Time (1973–1976)
Title	Executive Editor
Spouse	Henry Little Griggs III (1981–present)

Jill Ellen Abramson (born March 19, 1954)^[1] is the executive editor of The New York Times. Assuming the position in September 2011, she became the first woman in this role in the paper's 160-year history.^[2]

Early life and education[link]

A native of New York City, Abramson received her high school diploma from Ethical Culture Fieldston School and a B.A. in History and Literature from Harvard University in 1976.^[3]

Career[link]

While an undergraduate, she was the Arts Editor of The Harvard Independent, and worked at Time magazine from 1973 to 1976. Subsequently, she spent nearly a decade as a senior staff reporter for The American Lawyer.^[4] In 1986, she was appointed as editor in chief of Legal Times in Washington, D.C., serving for two years. From 1988 to 1997, she was a senior reporter in the Washington bureau of The Wall Street Journal, eventually rising to deputy bureau chief. She became the chief of The New York Times Washington bureau upon her move to the newspaper in 1997.^[4]

Abramson was the Times' Washington Bureau chief during the turbulent period of Spring 2003 during the run-up to the war in Iraq and the Jayson Blair scandal, which led to the resignation of Executive Editor Howell Raines and Managing Editor Gerald Boyd. Abramson was named to the news Managing Editor position (with co-Managing Editor John M.Geddes) by Raines' successor Bill Keller.^[5]

In 1995, Abramson and her The Wall Street Journal colleague (and fellow Fieldston alumna) Jane Mayer co-authored Strange Justice: The Selling of Clarence Thomas, which detailed circumstances surrounding the confirmation hearings of Justice Clarence Thomas. Maureen Dowd would later write of having bonded with Abramson during that time.^[6] From 2000–01, she was a professor at Princeton University.^[4] She was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2001.^[7]

In February 2007, Abramson testified in the perjury trial of Scooter Libby, United States v. Libby. She was called as a defense witness to undercut the credibility of Judith Miller.^[3]

On June 2, 2011, it was announced that Abramson would become the executive editor of the Times in September 2011, replacing Bill Keller who would step down from the position to become a full time writer.^[8]

Abramson was scheduled to address the commencement exercises of Barnard College on May 14, 2012. Her speech was canceled after President Barack Obama requested to speak instead.^[9]

Personal life[link]

In 1981, she married Harvard classmate Henry Little Griggs III. Griggs was then president of Triad, a political public relations company. He is self-described as a “writer, editor and media-relations consultant specializing in nonprofit advocacy campaigns.” They have two children.^[3]

In May 2007, Abramson was seriously injured in a truck-pedestrian traffic accident near the New York Times's Times Square headquarters. She and her husband subsequently filed a lawsuit against the truck's driver, owner and operator.^[3]

Bibliography[link]

• With Jane Mayer. Strange Justice: The Selling of Clarence Thomas. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1994. ISBN 978-0-395-63318-2
• Where They Are Now: The Story of the Women of Harvard Law 1974. New York: Doubleday, 1986. ISBN 978-0-385-19432-7, OCLC 12314642
• The Puppy Diaries: Raising a Dog Named Scout. New York: Times Books, 2011. (Forthcoming in October 2011, published by Two Roads Books.)

References[link]