Harry McPherson

Harry McPherson

Harry Cummings McPherson, Jr. (born August 22, 1929 in Tyler , Texas , † February 16, 2012 in Bethesda , Maryland ) was an American lawyer who served as legal advisor to the White House from 1965 to 1969 .

Life

Studies and employees in the Senate and ministries

After attending school, McPherson began studying at Southern Methodist University and continued this at the University of the South , where he earned a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in 1949 . After he then graduated from Columbia University with a degree in literature until 1950 , he did his military service as an intelligence officer in the US Air Force . After retiring from the military, he studied law at the University of Texas and graduated in 1956 with a Bachelor of Laws(LL.B.) and received his license to practice law in Texas ( State Bar of Texas ).

Subsequently, McPherson, who was a member of the Democratic Party , was first assistant to the legal advisor on the staff of the Political Committee of the Democratic Party in the US Senate in 1956 . After he was subsequently Associate Legal Adviser there between 1959 and 1961, he acted as legal advisor to this Political Committee from 1961 to 1963.

Upon completion of this activity, he was in 1963 Deputy Undersecretary ( Deputy Undersecretary ) for international affairs in the War Office ( US Department of the Army ), and then from 1964 to 1965 Assistant to the Foreign Minister ( Assistant Secretary of State ) for Education and Culture Affairs.

Legal advisor and legal practice

In 1965 he was appointed White House Counsel by US President Lyndon B. Johnson, a position he held until 1969.

After retiring from government service, McPherson, who was also a licensed attorney in Washington, DC ( District of Columbia Bar ), was a partner in the law firm Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand between 1969 and 2002 . In addition to this position, he was also a trustee of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars between 1969 and 1974 and then a member of the board of directors of the Council on Foreign Relations from 1974 to 1977 . He also served as legal advisor to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts between 1976 and 1991 .

In 1979, US President Jimmy Carter appointed him to the Presidential Commission to investigate the accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant on March 28, 1979. Later, in addition to his legal work, McPherson was President of the Federal City Council, founded in 1954, from 1983 to 1988, and from 1992 to 1999 as well President of the Economic Club of Washington, DC . In 1993 he was also a member of the Commission for the Closure and Realignment of Military Bases ( US Base Closure and Realignment Commission ).

After the merger of the law firm Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand with DLA Piper , one of the world's largest law firms, in 2002 he became a senior advisor to DLA Piper and held this position until his death.

Publications

• A Political Education: A Journal of Life with Senators, Generals, Cabinet Members and Presidents , Autobiography , 1972

Web links

• Harry McPherson in the nndb (English)