| Donald Rumsfeld | |
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Highlights of the career history of Donald Rumsfeld, President-Elect Bush's nominee for secretary of defense.
1954: Graduated from Princeton University
1955-57: Served in the U.S. Navy as an aviator and flight instructor.
1962: Elected to the House of Representatives from Illinois in 1962. Served four terms.
1962: Resigned from Congress to join the Nixon administration as an assistant to the president and director of the Office of Economic Opportunity; later served as counselor to the president and director of the Cost of Living Council.
1973: Became US ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
1974: Head President Gerald Ford's transition team.
1975, Nov. 20: Became youngest-ever secretary of defense at the age 43. Serve 14 months, until the end of President Ford's administration.
1977-1985: Chairman and CEO of G. D. Searle & Co.
1981-86: Chairman of the Rand Corporation
1983-84: Served as Presidential Envoy to the Middle East
1990-93: Chairman and CEO of General Instrument Corporation
1996: Served as chairman of Sen. Bob Dole's presidential campaign.
1997: Received the Presidential Medal of Freedom
1999-2000: Served as chairman of the Ballistic Missile Threat Commission that found an increasing threat of missile attack on the United States.
2000, Dec. 28: Named as President-Elect George W. Bush's nominee for secretary of defense.
As secretary
of defense under President Ford, Rumsfeld was involved in the B-1 bomber, the
Trident nuclear submarine program, and the MX missile. He personally piloted an
early version of the B-1 bomber.
