Former US secretary of state Alexander Haig dead at 85
Former US secretary of state Alexander Haig, four-star general who was senior adviser to three presidents, dies at 85
Also In The News
|
By Tom Powell
Bradford Bulls moved themselves off the foot of the Super League with a 41-22 win over Castleford Tigers at the Grattan Stadium. |  |
Saturday, 20, Feb 2010 06:42
By Matthew Champion.
Former US secretary of state Alexander Haig, the four-star general who served as the senior adviser to three presidents, has died at the age of 85, his family has said.
Mr Haig died at Johns Hopkins hospital in Baltimore, where he had been since late January, following complications with an infection.
A decorated veteran of both the Korean and Vietnam wars, Mr Haig rose to the rank of general before coming to the forefront of the Republican party in the 1970s and 1980s.
He was chief of staff to president Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal, a post he maintained under his successor Gerald Ford after convincing Nixon to resign.
It was during his tenure as secretary of state under Richard Nixon that his most infamous episode occurred however, when he was accused of over-stepping the mark following an unsuccessful assassination attempt upon the president.
With vice-president George HW Bush flying back to Washington from Texas Mr Haig went before reporters and said: "As of now, I am in control here in the White House, pending the return of the vice president."
In a statement Barack Obama said Mr Haig, who was also Nato's supreme allied commander in Europe, was a "great American who served our country with distinction".
"General Haig exemplified our finest warrior-diplomat tradition of those who dedicate their lives to public service," President Obama said.