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Donald Rumsfeld served as U.S. Secretary of Defense under Presidents Gerald Ford and George W. Bush — the only person to hold the post non-consecutively. After the September 11 attacks, he oversaw the invasions of Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003. Rumsfeld resigned in November 2006 following criticism over the Iraq War. He died on June 29, 2021 in Taos, New Mexico.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Donald Rumsfeld — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Donald Rumsfeld by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Donald Rumsfeld — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
Donald Rumsfeld attended Princeton University, where he wrestled and became All-Navy Wrestling Champion during his US Navy service from 1954 to 1957. He went on to earn a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. Born on July 9, 1932 in Evanston, Illinois, to George Donald Rumsfeld, a real estate agent of German descent, and Jeannette Husted, he grew up in a family with English and Irish roots.
Rumsfeld began his political career as a U.S. Representative from Illinois from 1963 to 1969. He served as an economic advisor to President Richard Nixon from 1969 to 1970 and again in 1971 to 1972. In 1973, he became U.S. Ambassador to NATO. Under President Gerald Ford, he served as White House Chief of Staff from 1974 to 1975 and then as Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977. After Ford left office, Rumsfeld moved into business, holding senior positions at G.D. Searle and Company from 1977 to 1985, and later at General Instrument Corporation and Gilead Sciences.
He returned to public service in 2001 when President George W. Bush appointed him Secretary of Defense. After the September 11 attacks, Rumsfeld led the U.S. military response, including the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and the Iraq War in 2003. He often overshadowed Secretary of State Colin Powell as the public face of the administration’s war policy. Following the 2006 midterm elections, Rumsfeld resigned on November 8, 2006, and was succeeded by Robert Gates.
Rumsfeld married Joyce Pierson on December 27, 1954, and they had three children. He met Elvis Presley backstage in Las Vegas with Sammy Davis Jr. His father was of German descent from Weyhe, Germany, and his mother had Colonial American roots. He was a flight instructor in the US Navy and once stood near President Gerald Ford when Sara Jane Moore attempted to assassinate Ford in 1975.
Rumsfeld received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977, the Eisenhower Medal in 1993, and numerous other awards including the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. He was a member of the neoconservative Project for the New American Century. He was both the youngest and oldest Secretary of Defense in U.S. history, serving under Ford and Bush. His memoir, Known and Unknown: A Memoir, was published in 2011. He is remembered for his role in the Iraq War and the War on Terror.
The complete filmography of Donald Rumsfeld — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
Every award, honor, and recognition received by Donald Rumsfeld — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
Donald Rumsfeld's bibliography — every authored, edited, and co-written book, ranked by edition count.
A wall of memorable lines from Donald Rumsfeld — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
Reports That Say Something Hasn’t Happened Are Always Interesting to Me Because, as We Know, There Are Known Knowns – There Are Things We Know We Know. We Also Know There Are Known Unknowns – That Is to Say We Know There Are Some Things We Do Not Know. but There Are Also Unknown Unknowns – the Ones We Don’t Know We Don’t Know.
We Acted in Iraq Because We Saw the Evidence in a Dramatic New Light – Through the Prism of Our Experience on 9/11.
My Family Originates from Northern Germany. People There Are Well Known for Their Direct and Clear Manner of Speaking.
I Think All of Us Have a Sense If We Imagine the Kind of World We Would Face If the People Who Bombed the Mess Hall in Mosul, or the People Who Did the Bombing in Spain, or the People Who Attacked the United States in New York, Shot Down the Plane Over Pennsylvania and Attacked the Pentagon, the People Who Cut off Peoples’ Heads on Television to Intimidate, to Frighten Indeed the Word ‘Terrorized’ Is Just That. Its Purpose Is to Terrorize, to Alter Behavior, to Make People Be Something Other Than That Which They Want to Be.
When You Say, ‘How Can You Know?’. the Answer Is, You Can’t. Wouldn’t It Be Wonderful If We Could See Around Corners – Have Our Imagination Anticipate Every Conceivable Thing That Could Happen, and Then – from That Full Array and Spectrum – Pick Out the Ones That Will Happen?
Nineteen Hijackers, Using Commercial Airliners as Guided Missiles to Incinerate Three Thousand Men, Women and Children, Was Perhaps the Most Horrific Single Unknown Unknown America Has Experienced.
Little-known facts about Donald Rumsfeld — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
Served as U.S. Ambassador to NATO from 1973 to 1974.
U.S. Secretary of Defense under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2006; previously served in that position from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford.
Was a U.S. Congressman from Illinois from 1963 to 1969.
Rumsfeld was once the All-Navy Wrestling Champion.
Rumsfeld served as Secretary of Defense under both Gerald Ford and George W. Bush, making him both the youngest and the oldest Defense Secretary in U.S. history.
Resigned as Secretary of Defense on November 6, 2006; his resignation was announced by President George W. Bush on November 8, 2006.
Met Elvis Presley in Las Vegas backstage with Sammy Davis Jr.
A member of the neoconservative Project for the New American Century, with Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice and Paul Wolfowitz, all of whom joined George W. Bush’s cabinet.
His father was of German descent, with ancestry from a little town named Weyhe, located south of Bremen in Germany. His mother was of mostly English and some Irish descent, with Colonial American roots.
Portrayed by Steve Carell in Vice 2018.
Sent to Iraq on an official visit in 1983, where footage showed him greeted by Pres. Saddam Hussein; during the visit, he gifted Hussein a pair of spurs.
Son of George Donald Rumsfeld born Illinois, October 10, 1904, died September 1974, who worked in real estate, and wife Jeannette Kearsley Huster born Illinois, May 27, 1903, died May 3, 1988.
A flight instructor in the US Navy from 1954 to 1957.
On September 22, 1975, he was standing feet away from Gerald Ford when Sara Jane Moore shot at the president just outside the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Donald Rumsfeld.
Celebrities similar to Donald Rumsfeld — same craft, ranked by reach.
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