Alexander Haig

Alexander Haig
Born	Alexander Meigs Haig Jr. 2 12, 1924
Birthplace	Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	Template:Death date and age Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Military officer, diplomat, politician, businessman
Known for	59th United States Secretary of State; White House Chief of Staff; Supreme Allied Commander Europe
Education	United States Military Academy (BS) Columbia University (MBA) Georgetown University (MA)
Spouse(s)	Patricia Fox Haig
Children	3
Awards	Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, Purple Heart

Alexander Meigs Haig Jr. (December 2, 1924 – February 20, 2010) was an American military officer, diplomat, and politician who occupied some of the most consequential positions in the United States government during the Cold War era. Over the course of a career that spanned more than three decades of public service, Haig served as the 59th United States Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan, as White House Chief of Staff under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, and as the 7th Supreme Allied Commander Europe, commanding all NATO forces on the continent. A decorated combat veteran of both the Korean War and the Vietnam War, Haig rose through the ranks of the United States Army to become, in 1973, the youngest four-star general in the Army's history. His tenure as chief of staff during the Watergate scandal placed him at the center of one of the gravest constitutional crises in American history, and his declaration "I am in control here" following the Reagan assassination attempt in 1981 became one of the most quoted—and debated—statements in modern American political history. Haig died on February 20, 2010, at the age of 85, at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, from complications related to an infection.

Early Life

Alexander Meigs Haig Jr. was born on December 2, 1924, in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, on the city's affluent Main Line. He was raised in a Roman Catholic Irish-American family. His father, Alexander Meigs Haig Sr., was a lawyer who died when the younger Haig was ten years old. His mother, Regina Anne Murphy Haig, was left to raise the family in modest circumstances following her husband's death. Haig had a brother, Frank Haig, who became a Jesuit priest and academic.

Philadelphia and its surrounding communities dominated Haig's formative years. The family's reduced financial situation following the death of Haig's father shaped the young man's determination and ambition. He attended local schools in the Philadelphia area before pursuing higher education. Haig briefly attended the University of Notre Dame before securing an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, which offered him a path to a college education and a military career without the financial burden his family could not bear.

The Philadelphia area's influence on Haig remained significant throughout his life. He maintained connections to the region even as his career took him to the highest levels of government and military command. His early experiences of loss and economic hardship instilled in him a drive that would propel him through a remarkable series of increasingly important positions in the American military and political establishment.

Education

Haig's educational trajectory reflected both his military ambitions and his intellectual interests. After a brief period at the University of Notre Dame, Haig entered the United States Military Academy at West Point, from which he graduated in 1947 with a Bachelor of Science degree. His class at West Point would produce several notable military and public figures.

Following his initial years of military service, Haig pursued graduate education at two prestigious institutions. He earned a Master of Business Administration from Columbia University and a Master of Arts from Georgetown University. These advanced degrees supplemented his military training with expertise in business administration and international affairs, equipping him for the dual military-political career he would later pursue. His Georgetown studies, in particular, focused on international relations, providing an academic foundation for his later diplomatic roles.

Career

Early Military Service and the Korean War

Haig was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army upon his graduation from West Point in 1947. He began his military career in the period immediately following World War II, as the Army was reorganizing for the emerging Cold War.

During the Korean War, Haig served in several staff positions that brought him into contact with senior military leaders. He served as an aide to General Alonzo Patrick Fox and subsequently to General Edward Almond, the commanding general of X Corps. These assignments exposed Haig to high-level military decision-making and forged connections that would prove valuable in his later career. His Korean War service provided his first experience of combat operations and the complexities of coalition warfare on the Asian continent.

Vietnam War

Haig's service during the Vietnam War established his reputation as a courageous and capable combat leader. He commanded a battalion and later a brigade of the 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam. His performance in combat earned him some of the military's highest decorations, including the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation's second-highest award for valor in combat. He also received the Silver Star with oak leaf cluster, indicating multiple awards, and the Purple Heart, signifying that he had been wounded in action.

His combat record in Vietnam distinguished Haig from many of the political figures he would later work alongside and gave him a credibility in military matters that he would invoke throughout his subsequent political career. The decorations attested to his personal bravery under fire and his effectiveness as a field commander during one of the most controversial conflicts in American history.

National Security Adviser's Office and Rise in Washington

In 1969, Haig joined the National Security Council staff as a military assistant to National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger. This assignment marked Haig's transition from the conventional military career track to the intersection of military and political power in Washington. Working closely with Kissinger, one of the most influential foreign policy figures of the twentieth century, Haig gained an intimate understanding of the national security decision-making process and the political dynamics of the Nixon White House.

By June 1970, Haig had risen to become the Deputy National Security Advisor, serving in that capacity until January 1973. In this role, he was involved in many of the major foreign policy initiatives of the Nixon administration, including the secret negotiations related to the Vietnam War and the opening to China. His effectiveness as Kissinger's deputy demonstrated his ability to navigate the complex bureaucratic and political terrain of Washington, and his work brought him to the direct attention of President Nixon.

In January 1973, Haig was appointed Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army, the Army's second-highest-ranking position. At the same time, he was promoted to four-star general, making him, at age 48, the youngest officer to hold that rank in the Army's history. This rapid promotion—Haig had been a colonel only a few years earlier—was extraordinary and controversial within the military establishment, as it required him to leap over numerous more senior officers.

White House Chief of Staff

Haig's tenure as Vice Chief of Staff lasted only a few months. In May 1973, following the resignation of H. R. Haldeman amid the growing Watergate scandal, President Nixon appointed Haig as his White House Chief of Staff. This assignment placed Haig at the very center of the most serious political crisis to confront an American president since the Civil War.

As chief of staff, Haig became one of the most powerful and influential figures in the Nixon administration during its final, turbulent months. With Nixon increasingly consumed by the Watergate investigation and facing the prospect of impeachment, Haig assumed a central role in managing the day-to-day operations of the executive branch. According to multiple accounts, Haig played a significant role in persuading Nixon to resign in August 1974, recognizing that the president's political position had become untenable following the release of the so-called "smoking gun" tape.

After Nixon's resignation on August 9, 1974, Haig continued to serve as chief of staff for approximately the first month of President Gerald Ford's administration, providing continuity during the transition of power. He was succeeded in the role by Donald Rumsfeld in September 1974.

The question of Haig's precise role in the events surrounding Nixon's resignation—including whether he was involved in discussions about a potential presidential pardon for Nixon before Ford took office—remained a subject of historical debate for decades. Haig consistently maintained that he had acted properly throughout the crisis and that his primary concern had been the stability of the government and the continuity of American foreign policy during a period of extreme domestic turmoil.

Supreme Allied Commander Europe

In December 1974, Haig returned to active military service as the 7th Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), commanding all NATO military forces in Europe. He served in this position under Presidents Ford and Jimmy Carter until July 1, 1979. His appointment required him to return to active duty after his period of service in the White House, and a ceremony marking his assumption of command was held in Stuttgart, Germany, in November 1974.

As SACEUR, Haig was responsible for the defense of Western Europe against the Warsaw Pact during one of the more tense periods of the Cold War. He oversaw the modernization of NATO's military capabilities and worked to maintain alliance cohesion during a period when détente was the dominant framework of East-West relations. His deputies during this period included Generals John Mogg, Harry Tuzo, and Gerd Schmückle.

During his tenure as SACEUR, Haig survived an assassination attempt in June 1979 when a bomb exploded near his car in Mons, Belgium. The attack, attributed to the Red Army Faction, damaged his vehicle but did not injure him seriously. He retired from the Army in 1979 after 32 years of service.

Business Career

Following his retirement from the military, Haig pursued a career in the private sector. He became president and chief operating officer of United Technologies Corporation, one of the nation's largest defense and industrial conglomerates. His transition from military and government service to corporate leadership was characteristic of the "revolving door" between the public and private sectors that was common among senior national security officials of the era.

Haig also later headed a consulting firm, Worldwide Associates, through which he provided strategic advice to corporations and foreign governments. He hosted a television program called World Business Review on the 21st Century Business network, which featured discussions of international business and geopolitical topics. He remained active in business and public affairs well into his seventies.

Secretary of State

After Ronald Reagan won the 1980 United States presidential election, he nominated Haig to serve as the 59th United States Secretary of State. Haig assumed the office on January 22, 1981, succeeding Edmund Muskie.

Haig's tenure as Secretary of State was marked by both significant diplomatic initiatives and persistent bureaucratic conflict within the Reagan administration. From the outset, Haig sought to establish himself as the primary voice of American foreign policy, famously declaring that he would be the "vicar" of foreign policy in the Reagan administration. This assertion placed him in conflict with other senior officials, including Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, National Security Advisor Richard V. Allen, and White House staff who viewed Haig's claims to primacy as overreaching.

The most memorable incident of Haig's time as Secretary of State occurred on March 30, 1981, when President Reagan was shot in an assassination attempt by John Hinckley Jr. With Vice President George H. W. Bush airborne and temporarily out of communication, Haig appeared before the White House press corps and declared: "I am in control here, in the White House, pending return of the vice president." The statement was widely interpreted as a claim to presidential authority, though Haig later insisted he was merely trying to reassure the public that the government was functioning. Under the Presidential Succession Act, the Speaker of the House and the President pro tempore of the Senate stood ahead of the Secretary of State in the line of presidential succession, making Haig's assertion constitutionally inaccurate. The incident became a defining moment of Haig's public image and was replayed and debated for decades.

During the Falklands War of 1982, Haig undertook an ambitious diplomatic shuttle between London and Buenos Aires, attempting to broker a peaceful resolution to the conflict between the United Kingdom and Argentina over the Falkland Islands. His mediation efforts ultimately failed, and the United States eventually sided with its NATO ally, the United Kingdom. The episode demonstrated both Haig's willingness to engage in high-stakes diplomacy and the limitations of American influence in the conflict.

Haig also played a role in shaping the Reagan administration's approach to the Soviet Union and to conflicts in Central America and the Middle East. Scholars have since reassessed his contributions to Reagan-era foreign policy, with some arguing that his emphasis on diplomacy and alliance management represented a more moderate approach than that favored by some of his colleagues in the administration.

However, Haig's combative personality and his persistent bureaucratic battles with other senior officials increasingly alienated him within the administration. His relationship with the White House staff deteriorated, and he clashed repeatedly with other cabinet members over the direction of foreign policy. On July 5, 1982, Haig resigned as Secretary of State after approximately eighteen months in office. He was succeeded by George Shultz.

1988 Presidential Campaign

In 1988, Haig sought the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States in the 1988 primaries. His campaign was based on his extensive experience in national security and foreign affairs, but he was unable to gain significant traction against a field that included Vice President George H. W. Bush, Senator Bob Dole, and televangelist Pat Robertson. Haig's campaign struggled with fundraising and organization, and he withdrew from the race after poor showings in the early primaries.

Personal Life

Alexander Haig married Patricia Fox, whom he met through her father, General Alonzo Patrick Fox, under whom Haig had served during the Korean War. The couple had three children, including a son named Brian. Patricia Fox Haig survived her husband.

In his later years, Haig maintained residences in Florida and continued to be active in public affairs and business. He was hospitalized on several occasions in the years before his death.

Haig died on February 20, 2010, at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, at the age of 85. The cause of death was reported as complications from an infection. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors, a final tribute to his decades of service in uniform and in government.

Recognition

Haig received numerous military decorations during his career, reflecting his service in two wars and in senior command positions. His combat awards included the Distinguished Service Cross, the second-highest military decoration for valor; the Silver Star with oak leaf cluster; and the Purple Heart. He also received various service medals and foreign decorations associated with his NATO command and diplomatic service.

In 1996, Haig received the Distinguished Graduate Award from the United States Military Academy's Association of Graduates, recognizing his achievements as a West Point alumnus.

Haig's obituary in The New York Times described him as a "forceful aide to two presidents," a characterization that captured both his effectiveness and the controversies that surrounded him throughout his public career. Upon his death, tributes from political figures across the spectrum acknowledged his long record of military and public service, even as commentators continued to debate the legacy of his most controversial moments, particularly the "I am in control" statement of 1981.

Legacy

Alexander Haig's legacy remains a subject of scholarly and public debate. His career encompassed an extraordinary range of roles—combat commander, presidential aide, NATO supreme commander, secretary of state, and presidential candidate—that few American public figures have matched in breadth. His involvement in some of the most consequential events of the late twentieth century, from the Vietnam War to the Watergate crisis to the Cold War confrontation in Europe, ensured that his record would be examined from multiple perspectives.

Scholars at the Texas National Security Review organized a policy roundtable in 2022 specifically to reconsider Haig's tenure as Secretary of State, reflecting ongoing academic interest in his contributions to American foreign policy. Some contributors argued that Haig's emphasis on transatlantic alliance management and diplomatic engagement represented a more nuanced approach to Cold War policy than was often recognized at the time. Others noted that his combative personal style and bureaucratic conflicts undermined his effectiveness and contributed to his relatively brief time in office.

The "I am in control here" episode remained the most frequently cited moment of Haig's public career. While Haig and his defenders argued that the statement was taken out of context and was intended merely to reassure the public during a crisis, critics viewed it as emblematic of an overreaching ambition that characterized much of his career in government.

Haig's role during the Watergate crisis, while less publicly dramatic, was arguably more consequential. As chief of staff to a president whose administration was collapsing, Haig was credited by many historians with helping to maintain the functioning of the executive branch during a period of extreme instability and with facilitating the orderly transfer of power from Nixon to Ford—one of the most delicate transitions in American presidential history.

His burial at Arlington National Cemetery reflected the nation's recognition of his military service, which formed the foundation upon which his entire public career was built. Whatever the debates about his political legacy, Haig's record as a decorated combat veteran and senior military commander remained a point of broad acknowledgment.