James R. Schlesinger

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James R. Schlesinger (2004)

James Rodney Schlesinger (born February 15, 1929 in New York City , † March 27, 2014 in Baltimore , Maryland ) was an American politician . He was Secretary of Defense from 1973 to 1975 under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford . Ford's successor Jimmy Carter named him the first United States Secretary of Energy .

Scientific career

Schlesinger grew up in a middle-class Jewish family . He converted to Lutheran after visiting Germany in the 1950s . Schlesinger attended the Horace Mann School and Harvard University . He completed his studies in 1950 with a BA , in 1952 with an MA and in 1956 with a Ph.D. in economics . Between 1955 and 1963 he taught economics at the University of Virginia . In 1963 he moved to the Rand Corporation , where he was director of strategic studies until 1969.

Public offices

James R. Schlesinger (3rd from right) at President Ford's side during a session of the National Security Council (1974)

Nixon government

In 1969 Schlesinger became deputy director of the Bureau of the Budget , where he mainly dealt with defense issues. In 1971 President Nixon appointed him chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). In the year and a half in this role, Schlesinger carried out extensive reorganizations and increased the efficiency of the AEC considerably.

Director of the CIA

On February 2, 1973, he was appointed director of the CIA after previous director Richard Helms had been dismissed in connection with the Watergate affair . In this office, too, which he held for six months, he consistently restructured and made opponents in the CIA.

Secretary of Defense

Shortly before his resignation, Nixon appointed Schlesinger to his cabinet on July 2, 1973, at the age of 44, as Secretary of Defense . He held this office under Nixon's successor Gerald Ford from 1973 to 1975. His successor was Donald Rumsfeld . During his tenure as defense minister, the final phase of the Vietnam War also included the Yom Kippur War , the Cyprus crisis and the oil crisis . In early 1974, Schlesinger threatened the use of force against the OPEC states if they damaged the US economy.

Energy minister

After leaving the Pentagon, Schlesinger worked as a freelance writer and speaker. After the presidential election in 1976 he was appointed (although a member of the Republican Party ) in October 1977 as the first energy minister under President Jimmy Carter ( Democratic Party ). This ministry was newly formed from 50 different authorities. He held this post until July 1979.

further activities

He later worked as a Senior Adviser at Kuhn, Loeb & Co. and Lehman Brothers in New York City. He also worked for Miter Corporation . In June 2002 he was appointed to the Homeland Security Advisory Council by US President George W. Bush .

Works

  • The Political Economy of National Security. Praeger, New York 1960.

He is also the author of a number of articles on global warming in which he denied human-made global warming . Most recently, Schlesinger had clearly spoken out in favor of recognizing the peak oil theory and took the view that the world had meanwhile reached its maximum production limit for crude oil.

See also

Web links

Commons : James R. Schlesinger  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Timothy R. Smith: James R. Schlesinger, CIA chief and Cabinet member, dies , In: The Washington Post , March 27, 2014 (English)
  2. ^ Jens Hohensee: The first oil price shock 1973/74. Steiner, Stuttgart 1996, also dissertation University of Kiel, ISBN 3-515-06859-7 , here p. 87.
  3. ^ Robert D. McFadden: James R. Schlesinger, Willful Aide to Three Presidents, Is Dead at 85. (Obituary) , nytimes.com, March 27, 2014, accessed March 28, 2014
  4. ↑ Fox News announcement of the panel's start-up, June 12, 2002
  5. ↑ "We are all peakists now - Schlesinger", David Strahan's website, Sept. 17, 2007 [1]
personal data
SURNAME Schlesinger, James R.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Schlesinger, James Rodney (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH February 15, 1929
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH March 27, 2014
Place of death Baltimore , Maryland