Chuck Hagel
Chairman of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board
Incumbent
Assumed office October 28, 2009[1] Serving with David L. Boren
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Stephen Friedman
United States Senator from Nebraska
In office January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2009
Preceded by	J. James Exon
Succeeded by	Mike Johanns
Deputy Administrator of Veteran Affairs
In office 1981–1982
President	Ronald Reagan
Personal details
Born	(1946-10-04) October 4, 1946 (age 65) North Platte, Nebraska
Nationality	American
Spouse(s)	Lilibet Hagel
Children	Allyn Hagel Ziller Hagel
Residence	Omaha, Nebraska
Alma mater	University of Nebraska at Omaha
Occupation	Electronics executive
Religion	Episcopalian[2]
Military service
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1967–1968
Rank	sergeant
Unit	2nd Battalion, 47th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division
Battles/wars	Vietnam War
Awards	Purple Heart Army Commendation Medal Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry Combat Infantry Badge

	Biography portal
	United States Army portal

Charles Timothy "Chuck" Hagel (born October 4, 1946) is a former United States Senator from Nebraska. A member of the Republican Party, he was first elected in 1996 and was reelected in 2002. In 2009, he was elected as Chairman of the Atlantic Council.

Early life and family[link]

Born in North Platte, Nebraska, to Betty Dunn Hagel and Charles Dean Hagel, who had German and Polish ancestry,^[3] he graduated from St. Bonaventure High School (now Scotus Central Catholic High School) in Columbus, Nebraska, the Brown Institute for Radio and Television in 1966 and the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 1971. Hagel is a Vietnam War veteran, having served in the United States Army infantry, attaining the rank of Sergeant (E-5) from 1967 – 1968. He served as an infantry squad leader in the 9th Infantry Division.^[4][5] While serving during the Vietnam War, Hagel received the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, two Purple Hearts, Army Commendation Medal, and the Combat Infantryman Badge.^{[citation needed]} After returning from Vietnam, he worked as a bartender and radio newscaster while finishing college.

Hagel married Lilibet Ziller in April 1985. The couple live with their daughter, Allyn, and son, Ziller, in McLean, Virginia.^[6] The family has one dog, Figgie, a Portuguese water dog who was trained by Dawn Sylvia-Stasiewicz, the same dog trainer who trained the Obama Family's dog, Bo, as well as Ted Kennedy's dogs.^[7]

Hagel has two brothers: Thomas, also a highly decorated Vietnam War veteran, is a professor at the University of Dayton School of Law,^[8] and Mike, an accomplished and well known artist who currently resides in Omaha, Nebraska.^[9] Hagel's third brother, Jim, died in a tragic car accident at the age of 16.^[10]

Hagel has been an avid Nebraska Cornhuskers football fan since he was a young boy growing up in Nebraska. He and his son, Ziller, presented the coin for the coin toss at the 2005 MasterCard Alamo Bowl, in which Nebraska was victorious over the Michigan Wolverines.

Career in Washington[link]

In 1971, Hagel was hired as a staffer for Congressman John Y. McCollister (R-NE), serving until 1977. For the next four years, he worked as a lobbyist for Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, and, in 1980, he served as an organizer for the successful presidential campaign of former California Governor Ronald Reagan.

After Reagan's inauguration as President, Hagel was named deputy administrator of the Veterans Administration. In 1982, however, he resigned his post over a disagreement with V.A. Administrator Robert P. Nimmo, who was intent on cutting funding for V.A. programs, and who had referred to veterans groups as "greedy", and to Agent Orange as not much worse than a "little teenage acne".^[11]

Business career[link]

After leaving government employment, Hagel co-founded Vanguard Cellular, a mobile phone manufacturer that made him a multi-millionaire. While working with Vanguard, he served as president and chief executive officer of the United Service Organizations and the Private Sector Council, as deputy director and chief operating officer of the 1990 G7 Summit, and on the board of directors or advisory committee of the American Red Cross, the Eisenhower World Affairs Institute, Bread for the World, and the Ripon Society. He also served as Chairman of the Agent Orange Settlement Fund and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Although he was pressured by some to run for Governor of Virginia, where he had lived for 20 years, in 1992 Hagel moved back to Nebraska to become president of the McCarthy Group, an investment banking firm. He also served as a Chairman and was CEO of American Information Systems Inc. (AIS), a voting machine manufacturer.

In 1992, as President of investment group McCarthy & Co., Hagel assumed ownership and became Chairman of American Information Services (AIS), later known as Election Systems & Software (ES&S), a manufacturer of computerized voting machines. On March 15, 1995, Hagel resigned from the board of AIS as he intended to run for office.^[12]

Election to the Senate[link]

In 1996, Hagel ran for the open US Senate seat created by the retirement of Democrat J. James Exon. Hagel's opponent was Ben Nelson, then the sitting Governor of Nebraska. Although many people^{[citation needed]} believed Hagel had no chance of winning, he won a "stunning upset" in the election, receiving 56% of the vote, winning virtually all demographic groups including many black precincts that had always voted Democratic in previous elections,^{[citation needed]} and becoming the first Republican in twenty-four years to win a Senate seat in Nebraska.

Six years later in 2002, Hagel overwhelmingly won re-election with over 83% of the vote, the largest margin of victory in any statewide race in Nebraska history.

Senate career[link]

Since his election to the Senate in 1996, Hagel served as deputy whip for the Republican Caucus. He was chair of both the Senate Global Climate Change Observer Group and the Senate Oversight Task Force. He served as co-chairman of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. He also served on the NATO Observer Group. Hagel was a member of four Senate committees: Foreign Relations; Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; the Select Committee on Intelligence, and the Committee on Rules and Administration.

Hagel's name was widely rumoured to be one of those considered by George W. Bush as a potential running mate in the 2000 presidential election. During the Bush administration, Hagel maintained a "traditionally Republican" voting record, receiving "a lifetime rating of 84 percent from the American Conservative Union and consistent A and B grades from the National Taxpayers Union."^[13] Among his most notable votes, Hagel:

• Voted for the Iraq war
• Voted for the Patriot Act
• Voted for the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts
• Voted against No Child Left Behind
• Voted against Bush’s Medicare prescription drug bill
• Voted against McCain-Feingold^[13]

In August 2004, Hagel acknowledged that he was considering a presidential campaign in 2008.

Hagel appeared as himself on the HBO series K Street in 2003, on the episode entitled "Week Four".^{[citation needed]}

On immigration, Senator Hagel supports a "pathway to citizenship" and a "guest worker program" for undocumented immigrants.^{[citation needed]} On May 25, 2006 he voted for S. 2611, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006, which passed the Senate before reaching a stalemate in the House in late 2006. On June 26, 2007, Hagel joined with Senator Ted Kennedy to support the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 (S. 1639).

In July 2007, Hagel was one of three Republican Senators who supported the legislation proposed by Democrats to require a troop withdrawal from Iraq to begin within 120 days. "This thing is really coming undone quickly, and [Prime Minister] Maliki's government is weaker by the day. The police are corrupt, top to bottom. The oil problem is a huge problem. They still can't get anything through the parliament—no hydrocarbon law, no de-Baathification law, no provincial elections" (from Robert Novak's interview with Hagel, published in the Washington Post: "Hagel's Stand".)

During his first campaign, Hagel indicated that, were he to be elected, he would retire in 2008 after two terms in the Senate.^[14] Nebraska State Attorney General Jon Bruning announced plans to challenge him in the primaries in 2008 if he did not retire.^{[citation needed]} After considering running in the 2008 presidential election, Hagel announced in 2007 that he would retire from the Senate at the end of his present term and would not seek the presidency.^[15] He has joined the faculty of Georgetown University, where his daughter currently attends, starting in the fall of 2009, as a Distinguished Professor in the Practice of National Governance and will begin teaching in the fall of 2009, as reported in the Georgetown University student paper "The Hoya", and in the Washington Post ^[16]

Senator Hagel's differences with his party's platform on Iraq are reflected in a change to his voting record. As reported in:^[17] " ... [A]ccording to Congressional Quarterly, in 2006 he voted with the President ninety-six per cent of the time... Hagel's support for Bush's policies declined—in 2007, he voted with the President just seventy-two per cent of the time."

Hagel had a tradition of wearing costumes to work on Halloween, usually masquerading as colleagues or other notable political figures. He has arrived at work dressed as Joe Biden, John McCain, Colin Powell, and Pat Roberts in past years.^[18]

Committee assignments[link]

• Committee on Foreign Relations
  • Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs
  • Subcommittee on African Affairs
  • Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs
  • Subcommittee on International Development and Foreign Assistance, Economic Affairs, and International Environmental Protection (Ranking Member)
• Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance and Investment
  • Subcommittee on Financial Institutions (Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development
• Select Committee on Intelligence
• Committee on Rules and Administration

Criticism of the Bush Administration[link]

On August 18, 2005, Hagel compared the Iraq War to Vietnam and openly mocked Vice President Dick Cheney's assertion that the Iraqi insurgency was in its "last throes".^[19]

In November 2005, Hagel made a much-publicized statement: "To question your government is not unpatriotic — to not question your government is unpatriotic." (This was in reference to the lack of open debate in Congress regarding the Iraq War, and in defense of his assertion that the United States should withdraw its troops.)^{[citation needed]} In December 2005, in reference to Bush, the Republican Party, and the PATRIOT Act, Hagel made a much-publicized statement:

"I took an oath of office to the Constitution, I didn't take an oath of office to my party or my president."^[20]

In January 2006, Hagel took issue with Karl Rove over controversial statements the White House advisor made concerning the mindset of Republicans and Democrats. Hagel said, "Well, I didn't like what Mr. Rove said, because it frames terrorism and the issue of terrorism and everything that goes with it, whether it's the renewal of the Patriot Act or the NSA wiretapping, in a political context." He also said that "dark clouds" are hanging over the Republican party, and "If you look at the environment and the atmospherics politically in this town, read any poll. The sixth year of a governing party usually ... is not good ... the country is tired, a lot of complications in these international issues, we're at war."^[21] Hagel further criticized the Bush administration, saying, "National security is more important than the Republican Party or the Democratic Party. And to use it to try to get someone elected will ultimately end up in defeat and disaster for that political party."^[21]

In July 2006, Hagel again took issue with the Bush administration, this time on its handling of the Israel-Lebanon issue saying "The sickening slaughter on both sides must end and it must end now. President Bush must call for an immediate cease-fire. This madness must stop."^[22] Following heavy Republican losses in the 2006 midterm election, Hagel penned an editorial in the Washington Post highly critical of military strategies both employed and proposed for Iraq. He unequivocally declared that "There will be no victory or defeat for the United States in Iraq," and called for a "phased troop withdrawal" — making Hagel one of the most prominent voices in his party to do so.^[23]

According to a SurveyUSA poll, Hagel has a 10% higher approval rating among Nebraska Democrats than Republicans.^[24][25] OnTheIssues.org rates Hagel as a "libertarian-leaning conservative".

In January 2007, Hagel openly criticized President Bush's plan to send an additional 20,000 troops to Iraq. He called it, "the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since Vietnam, if it's carried out."^[26] Together with Democrats Joseph Biden and Carl Levin he proposed a non-binding resolution to the Democratic-controlled Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which rejected Bush's policy as "not in the national interest" in a 12-9 vote.^[27] However, in a Senate vote of 94-2 to revoke executive power to replace federal prosecutors without a preliminary hearing, Senator Hagel and Senator Kit Bond were the only opposition.^[28]

After an April 2007 visit to Iraq with Pennsylvania Democratic Representative Joe Sestak, Hagel expressed his belief that the occupation of Iraq should not continue indefinitely and defended Congressional actions to set a timeline for an end in occupation. In July 2007, Hagel expressed his intention to cooperate with Senate Democrats in voting for a bill that would set a timeline to get out of Iraq.^[29]

In November 2007, he rated the Bush administration "the lowest in capacity, in capability, in policy, in consensus—almost every area" of any presidency in the last forty years. He also revealed he was open to running as vice-president with the 2008 Democratic nominee.^[30] In the same month, he said, "I have to say this is one of the most arrogant, incompetent administrations I've ever seen or ever read about."^[30]

Despite his criticisms of the Bush administration, Hagel voted 78.1% of the time with the Republican party.^[31]

Decision not to seek re-election[link]

On September 10, 2007, Hagel announced that he would be retiring from the Senate at the end of his term in 2009.^[32] The announcement ended speculation regarding a possible bid for the presidency in 2008.

On its website The Times reported that the Senator was a possible candidate for the cabinet position of United States Secretary of Defense in the Barack Obama administration:

Obama is hoping to appoint cross-party figures to his cabinet such as Chuck Hagel, the Republican senator for Nebraska and an opponent of the Iraq war […] Senior advisers confirmed that Hagel, a highly decorated Vietnam war veteran and one of McCain’s closest friends in the Senate, was considered an ideal candidate for defense secretary.^[33]

Senator Obama was quoted in the same article, when asked about Hagel as a potential cabinet member: "Chuck Hagel is a great friend of mine and I respect him very much."^[33] Following Hagel's retirement from the Senate, in February 2009 he accepted a position as Distinguished Professor in the Practice of National Governance at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

In 2010, Hagel endorsed Democratic Pennsylvania Congressman Joe Sestak in his run for the United States Senate.

Vice Presidential possibilities[link]

Hagel was rumored to be a possible Obama pick for the Vice Presidential candidacy in his 2008 presidential election ticket. On June 20, 2008, Hagel said he would consider running with Obama if offered the VP spot.^[34] He had also been mentioned as a potential United States Secretary of Defense to succeed incumbent Robert Gates in the Obama administration.^[35][36] and said that he would consider serving if asked.^[37] In August, Hagel indicated that he wouldn't endorse either candidate or get involved in their campaigns.^[38] However, his wife endorsed Obama. Obama later picked Joe Biden as his running mate. Robert Gates remained Secretary of Defense for the Obama administration until 2011, when he was succeeded by Leon Panetta, a Democrat.

America: Our Next Chapter[link]

In Senator Hagel's new book, America: Our Next Chapter, he suggests that the United States should adopt independent leadership and possibly another political party. He also believes that the Iraq War is one of the five biggest blunders in U.S. history. Hagel is critical of George W. Bush's foreign policy, calling it "reckless." He has been a major critic of the war since it started, and has stated that the United States should learn from its mistakes in the Vietnam War. He considers Bush's foreign policy a "ping pong game with American lives".

Electoral history[link]

Republican primary for U.S. Senate from Nebraska, 1996^[39]

• Chuck Hagel - 108,612 (62.11%)
• Don Stenberg - 65,753 (37.60%)
• Write-ins - 498 (0.29%)

Nebraska United States Senate election, 1996^[40]

• Chuck Hagel (R) - 379,933 (56.12%)
• Ben Nelson (D) - 281,904 (41.64%)
• John W. DeCamp (Libertarian) - 9,483 (1.40%)
• Bill Dunn (Natural Law) - 4,806 (0.71%)
• Write-ins - 832 (0.12%)

Republican primary for U.S. Senate from Nebraska, 2002^[41]

• Chuck Hagel (inc.) - 144,160 (100.00%) - unopposed

Nebraska United States Senate election, 2002^[42]

• Chuck Hagel (R) (inc.) - 397,438 (82.76%)
• Charlie Matulka (D) - 70,290 (14.64%)
• Jack Graziano (Libertarian) - 7,423 (1.55%)
• Phil Chase (Independent) - 5,066 (1.06%)

Awards and honors[link]

In 2001, Hagel was awarded the exclusive Horatio Alger Award for Distinguished Americans.^[43] Hagel is also Nebraska Admiral, an honorary title considering Nebraska is a landlocked state. On June 9, 2007, he gave the commencement address for North Central College and was given an honorary L.L.D.^[44] Hagel was the keynote speaker at the College of William and Mary's Charter Day in 2007, at which he was awarded an honorary degree of Public Service.^[45] On March 3, 2008, Hagel hosted a town hall meeting on domestic and foreign policy issues at the University of Maryland, at which the Center for American Politics and Citizenship (CAPC) gave him the Millard E. Tydings Award for Courage and Leadership in American Politics.^[46] Hagel served as the 2010 Clifford P. Case Professor of Public Affairs at Rutgers University's Eagleton Institute of Politics, speaking at public programs in New Brunswick and Newark.^[47]

Current Positions[link]

Hagel currently teaches at Georgetown University in the Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS), as a Distinguished Professor in the Practice of National Governance.^[48] He is Chairman of the Atlantic Council, Co-Chairman of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board; a member of the Secretary of Defense’s Policy Board and Secretary of Energy’s Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future; and is a member of Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) board of directors. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Chevron Corporation; the Advisory Boards of Deutsche Bank Americas; Corsair Capital; M.I.C. Industries; is a Director of the Zurich Holding Company of America; and is a Senior Advisor to McCarthy Capital Corporation.^[49]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Charlyne Berens,Chuck Hagel: Moving Forward University of Nebraska Press (2006)

External links[link]

Wikisource has original works written by or about: Chuck Hagel

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Chuck Hagel

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Chuck Hagel

Official sites

• Speech on U.S.-Iran Relations, Senate Speeches, U.S. Government, February 22, 2007
• Sandhills PAC Hagel's Political Action Committee

Documentaries, topic pages and databases

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• New York Times — Chuck Hagel News news stories and commentary
• Chuck Hagel: Moving Forward authorized biography by Charlyne Berens, book information from University of Nebraska Press ISBN 0-8032-1075-2

Media coverage

• Hagel low on cash on hand, raising retirement issue, The Hill, January 30, 2007
• Joseph Lelyveld, "The Heartland Dissident", New York Times Magazine, February 12, 2006
• Chuck Hagel: A Christmas Present, and Past, Washington Post, December 22, 2005
• Interview C-SPAN Q&A, November 13, 2005
• Hagel’s ethics filings pose disclosure issue, The Hill, January 29, 2003
• Sen. Chuck Hagel Interview (video), The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, March 31, 2008
• Connie Bruck, "Odd Man Out: Chuck Hagel's Republican Exile" The New Yorker 84/35 (3 November 2008) : 52-63

Grassroots campaigns

• Blogspot: Chuck Hagel for President, Unofficial campaign site on Blogspot
• Draft Hagel '08 grassroots presidential draft site
• Michigan for Hagel 2008, Unofficial Michigan campaign site on Blogspot
• Students for Hagel, Unofficial students' campaign site on Blogspot

v t e United States Senators from Nebraska Class 1 Tipton Paddock Van Wyck Paddock Allen Hayward Allen Dietrich Burkett G. Hitchcock Howell Thompson Hunter Burke Butler Reynolds Hruska Zorinsky Karnes Kerrey Nelson Class 2 Thayer P. Hitchcock Saunders Manderson Thurston Millard Brown Norris Wherry Seaton Griswold Bowring Abel Curtis Exon Hagel Johanns

John McCain
United States Senator from Arizona
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 1987 Serving with Jon Kyl
Preceded by	Barry Goldwater
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona's 1st district
In office January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1987
Preceded by	John Jacob Rhodes Jr.
Succeeded by	John Jacob Rhodes III
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 1997
Preceded by	Daniel Inouye
Succeeded by	Ben Nighthorse Campbell
In office January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2007
Preceded by	Ben Nighthorse Campbell
Succeeded by	Byron Dorgan
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
In office January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2001
Preceded by	Larry Pressler
Succeeded by	Ernest Hollings
In office January 20, 2001 – June 3, 2001
Preceded by	Ernest Hollings
Succeeded by	Ernest Hollings
In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2005
Preceded by	Ernest Hollings
Succeeded by	Ted Stevens
Personal details
Born	John Sidney McCain III (1936-08-29) August 29, 1936 (age 75) Coco Solo Naval Air Station, Panama Canal Zone
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Carol Shepp (m. 1965, div. 1980) Cindy Lou Hensley (m. 1980 - present)
Relations	John S. McCain, Jr. (father, deceased) Roberta McCain (mother)
Children	Douglas (b. 1959, adopted 1966) Andrew (b. 1962, adopted 1966) Sidney (b. 1966) Meghan (b. 1984) John Sidney IV "Jack" (b. 1986) James "Jimmy" (b. 1988) Bridget (b. 1991, adopted 1993)
Residence	Phoenix, Arizona
Alma mater	U.S. Naval Academy (B.S.)
Profession	Naval Aviator, politician
Religion	Baptist congregant (Brought up Episcopalian)[1]
Signature
Website	www.mccain.senate.gov
Military service
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1958–1981
Rank	Captain
Battles/wars	Vietnam War
This article is part of a series about The life of John McCain Early life and military career House and Senate career, until 2000 2000 presidential campaign Senate career, 2001–present 2008 presidential campaign Cultural and political image Political positions

In 1951 at left, with mother Roberta, brother Joe, and father John S. McCain, Jr.
In 1951 at left, with mother Roberta, brother Joe, and father John S. McCain, Jr.		In 1954 at the Naval Academy

John Sidney McCain III (born August 29, 1936) is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican presidential nominee in the 2008 United States election.

McCain followed his father and grandfather, both four-star admirals, into the United States Navy, graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1958. He became a naval aviator, flying ground-attack aircraft from aircraft carriers. During the Vietnam War, he was almost killed in the 1967 USS Forrestal fire. In October 1967, while on a bombing mission over Hanoi, he was shot down, seriously injured, and captured by the North Vietnamese. He was a prisoner of war until 1973. McCain experienced episodes of torture, and refused an out-of-sequence early repatriation offer. His war wounds left him with lifelong physical limitations.

He retired from the Navy as a captain in 1981 and moved to Arizona, where he entered politics. Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982, he served two terms, and was then elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986, winning re-election easily four times, most recently in 2010. While generally adhering to conservative principles, McCain at times has had a media reputation as a "maverick" for his willingness to disagree with his party on certain issues. After being investigated and largely exonerated in a political influence scandal of the 1980s as a member of the Keating Five, he made campaign finance reform one of his signature concerns, which eventually led to the passage of the McCain-Feingold Act in 2002. He is also known for his work towards restoring diplomatic relations with Vietnam in the 1990s, and for his belief that the war in Iraq should be fought to a successful conclusion. McCain has chaired the Senate Commerce Committee, opposed spending that he considered to be pork barrel, and played a key role in alleviating a crisis over judicial nominations.

McCain ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000 but lost a heated primary season contest to George W. Bush. He secured the nomination in 2008 after coming back from early reversals, but lost to Democratic candidate Barack Obama in the general election. He subsequently adopted more orthodox conservative stances and attitudes and largely opposed actions of the Obama administration.