Hershel W. Gober

Hershel W. Gober

Hershel Wayne Gober (* 21st December 1936 in Monticello , Arkansas ) is a former American politician of the Democratic Party , which in the Cabinet of President Bill Clinton as Secretary of War Veterans officiated.

Life

Gober graduated from Alaska Methodist University with a Bachelor's degree. He later served as an Army soldier in the Vietnam War , where, in addition to combat missions, he was also involved in the production of pieces of music that were intended to help strengthen the confidence of the Vietnamese people in the US government and the soldiers deployed in their country. He was later wounded in action. He received the Purple Heart , the Bronze Star and the Soldier's Medal before retiring from active service in 1978 with the rank of major . After retiring from the military, he served as director of the Northwest Pipeline Corporation and as a teacher for the Junior Reserve Officers Corps in Arkansas.

His political career began in Arkansas in January 1988 when he was appointed Head of the Department of Veterans Affairs to the State Government of Governor Bill Clinton. He held this post until February 4, 1993. On this day he switched to the federal government; there he became Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs and thus Deputy Secretary of Veterans Jesse Brown . After his resignation, Gober temporarily headed the ministry between July 1, 1997 and January 2, 1998, when Togo D. West Jr. was officially confirmed as the new minister. For a short time, Hershel Gober was about to become Brown's successor himself. Bill Clinton nominated him on July 31, 1997 for the post, but withdrew it on October 27 of the same year. This decision was based on the fear that a lawsuit brought against Gober in 1993 for sexual harassment could be discussed in the mandatory hearing of the candidate by a Senate committee . So he preferred to remain deputy minister.

In this position, too, he played an important role in the ministry. For example, he led a delegation in Vietnam that tried to clarify the fate of missing war veterans . He also worked to ensure that veterans received better medical care and that special clinics were set up for them.

After the resignation of Minister West, Hershel Gober took over the management of the authority for the second time on July 25, 2000. He then remained in that post, without any other successor being considered, until the end of Bill Clinton's presidency on January 20, 2001.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ BBC News: Winning hearts and minds in Vietnam
2. ^ New York Times: Clinton Withdraws Nomination For Secretary of Veterans Affairs .

Web links

• Hershel W. Gober at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia (English)