Secretary of the Navy Nomination of Edward Hidalgo.

The President today announced his intention to nominate Edward Hidalgo, of Washington, D.C., to be Secretary of the Navy. He would replace W. Graham Claytor, Jr.

Hidalgo has been Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Logistics since 1977.

He was born October 12, 1912, in Mexico City, Mexico, and has been a U.S. citizen since early childhood. He received a B.A. from Holy Cross College in 1933 and a J.D. from Columbia Law School in 1936. In 1959 he received a degree in civil law from the University of Mexico. He served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Naval Reserve from 1942 to 1946.

Hidalgo served as a law clerk to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in 1936 and 1937, and was an associate with the law firm of Wright, Gordon, Zachry & Parlin (Cahill, Gordon & Reindel) from 1937 to 1942. From 1942 to 1943, he was assigned to the State Department as a legal adviser to the Ambassador to the Emergency Advisory Committee for Politiical Defense in Montevideo.

From 1943 to 1945, he served as an air combat intelligence officer on the carrier Enterprise, and he was a member of the Eberstadt Committee, which reported to the Secretary of the Navy on unification of the military services in 1945. In 1945 and 1946, he served as Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Navy.

From 1946 to 1948, Hidalgo was a partner with the law firm of Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle, in charge of their Mexico City office. He was a founder in 1948 and a senior partner until 1965 in the Mexico City law firm of Hidalgo, Barrera, Siquieros & Torres Landa.

From 1965 to 1966, Hidalgo was a Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Navy, and from 1966 to 1972, he was a partner in the law firm of Cahill, Gordon & Reindel, in charge of their European office. In 1972 he served as Special Assistant for Economic Affairs to the Director of USIA, and from 1973 to 1976, he was General Counsel and Congressional Liaison of the Agency.