Ronald Reagan picture

Nomination of William Howard Taft IV To Be Deputy Secretary of Defense

January 05, 1984

The President announced today his intention to nominate William Howard Taft IV to be Deputy Secretary, Department of Defense. He would succeed W. Paul Thayer, who has resigned.

Since April of 1981 Mr. Taft has been serving as General Counsel of the Department of Defense. From 1977 to 1981, Mr. Taft was an attorney with the firm of Leva, Hawes, Symington, Martin and Oppenheimer of Washington, DC. Prior to this, Mr. Taft worked in government for 7 years in various capacities. In April 1976 Mr. Taft was appointed by President Ford to be General Counsel of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. For 3 years, from 1973 to 1976, Mr. Taft served as the Executive Assistant to the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. From 1970 to 1973, he was the principal assistant to Caspar W. Weinberger, who was Deputy Director, then Director, of the Office of Management and Budget. Mr. Taft served as attorney adviser to the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission in 1970.

Mr. Taft earned his Ph.D. in English from Yale College in 1966 and his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1969. He resides in Lorton, VA, with his wife, Julia, and their three children. He was born in Washington, DC, on September 13, 1945.

Ronald Reagan, Nomination of William Howard Taft IV To Be Deputy Secretary of Defense Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/260452

Filed Under

Categories

Attributes

Simple Search of Our Archives