Melvin Laird
20th-century American politician (1922-2016) · United States · On the map · Politicians · Died at 94
Melvin Robert Laird Jr. was an American politician, writer and statesman. A member of the Republican Party, he served a member of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin from 1953 to 1969 representing Wisconsin's 7th congressional district before serving as United States Secretary of Defense from...
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Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird with President Richard Nixon and General Alexander Haig and Secretary of State William P. Rogers and National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger at The Oval Office in The White House, Washington, D.C. January 4, 1973.
Laird with President Richard Nixon, under whom he served as Secretary of Defense.
Secretary Laird (center) before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1970
Secretary of Defense Melvin R. Laird with Air Force Chief of Staff General John D. Ryan and Secretary of The Air Force Robert C. Seamans at a ceremony in The Pentagon.
Melvin Laird (r) meets with successor as Secretary of Defense, Elliot Richardson at his office in The Pentagon, December 18, 1972.
Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird meets with Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Thomas Moorer and the other members of The Joint Chiefs of Staff in his Pentagon office.
Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird with President Richard Nixon and Secretary of The Navy John Warner present Congressman Carl Vinson with a model of aircraft carrier U.S.S. Carl Vinson at Andrews Air Force Base, November 18, 1973.Awards
About this person
A member of the Republican Party, he served a member of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin from 1953 to 1969 representing Wisconsin's 7th congressional district before serving as United States Secretary of Defense from 1969 to 1973 under President Richard Nixon. Laird was instrumental in forming the administration's policy of withdrawing U.S. soldiers from the Vietnam War; he coined the expression "Vietnamization," referring to the process of transferring more responsibility for combat to the South Vietnamese forces. First elected in 1952, Laird was the last living former U.S. representative elected to the 83rd Congress at the time of his death and the last living representative to have served during the presidency of Harry Truman.
