W. Marvin Watson

W. Marvin Watson

William Marvin Watson (born June 6, 1924 in Oakhurst , San Jacinto County , Texas - † November 26, 2017 in The Woodlands , Texas) was an American politician ( Democratic Party ) who served in the cabinet of President Lyndon B. Johnson the Held the post of US Postal Secretary . He was also the de facto White House Chief of Staff under Johnson .

Life

After attending school, Watson began studying at Baylor University in Waco . When the United States entered World War II, he joined the Marine Corps and served in the Pacific. After the end of the war he resumed his studies and graduated with a Master of Business Administration . He then worked as assistant to the President of the Lone Star Steel Company , a steel company based in Lone Star .

In 1958, Watson was elected to the State Democratic Committee , the governing body of the Democratic Party in Texas. During this time he began to campaign for a possible presidential candidacy from US Senator Lyndon B. Johnson. This later appointed him as a party congress coordinator. After Johnson, previously Vice President , followed the assassinated John F. Kennedy into President in November 1963, he brought his henchman to the White House . Watson actually performed the duties of Chief of Staff there, although Johnson, like Kennedy, did not officially fill this post. Like Kenneth O'Donnell under Kennedy, Watson served as Appointments Secretary to the President. After Bill Moyers ' resignation as press secretary for the White House in 1967, he also took over part of its remit.

On April 26, 1968, Watson was officially admitted to the Cabinet when he succeeded Larry O'Brien as Postmaster General . The President wanted to initiate necessary reforms in the postal system. Together with the President, Watson left government on January 20, 1969. He then went into the private sector and became a board member of Occidental Petroleum . He was most recently the last remaining US Postal Secretary in the cabinet rank; under his successor Winton M. Blount the transformation of the ministry into an independent federal agency ( United States Postal Service ) was completed.

Works

• W. Marvin Watson & Sherwin Markman. Chief of Staff: Lyndon Johnson and His Presidency. Thomas Dunne Books, 2004. ISBN 0-312-28504-3

Individual proof

1. ^ W. Marvin Watson Jr., a top White House aide to Lyndon B. Johnson, dies at 93

Web links

• W. Marvin Watson in the Miller Center of Public Affairs of the University of Virginia (English)
• The Political Graveyard