H. R. Haldeman
Bob Haldeman | |
---|---|
4th White House Chief of Staff | |
In office January 20, 1969 – April 30, 1973 | |
President | Richard Nixon |
Preceded by | James R. Jones (Appointments Secretary) |
Succeeded by | Alexander Haig |
Personal details | |
Born | Harry Robbins Haldeman October 27, 1926 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Died | November 12, 1993 (aged 67) Santa Barbara, California, U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse |
Joanne Horton (m. 1949) |
Children | 4 |
Education |
|
Harry Robbins "Bob" Haldeman (October 27, 1926 – November 12, 1993) was an American political aide and businessman, best known for his service as White House Chief of Staff to President Richard Nixon and his consequent involvement in the Watergate scandal.
Born in California, Haldeman served in the
A long family association with the Republican Party and his own interest drew Haldeman to politics. In the 1950s, he became acquainted with Nixon, for whom he developed both an intense respect and steadfast loyalty. He began as an advance man on President Dwight D. Eisenhower's reelection campaign in 1956, again worked as an advance man on Nixon's 1960 presidential campaign, and managed Nixon's 1962 run for governor of California. When Nixon was elected President in 1968, he selected Haldeman as his chief of staff.
Haldeman is credited with implementing more significant changes to
After he left the Nixon administration in April 1973, Haldeman was tried on counts of
Early life
Haldeman was born in Los Angeles on October 27, 1926, one of three children of socially prominent parents. His father, Harry Francis Haldeman, founded and ran a successful heating and air conditioning supply company, and gave time and financial support to local
During World War II he was in the United States Navy Reserve but did not see active combat. Haldeman attended the
Career
In 1949, he joined the
A long family association with the Republican Party and his own interest drew Haldeman to politics and during this period he commenced working for Richard Nixon, for whom he developed both an intense respect and steadfast loyalty. Beginning as an advance man on Nixon's 1956 and 1960 campaigns, Haldeman managed Nixon's 1962 run for governor of California, and when Nixon was elected President in 1968, he chose Haldeman to be his chief of staff.
Nixon administration
Watergate scandal |
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Events |
People |
When Haldeman's appointment to the White House was announced, Robert Rutland, a close friend and presidential scholar, urged him to start keeping a daily diary recording the major events of each day and Haldeman's thoughts on them. Haldeman took this suggestion and started keeping and maintaining a daily diary throughout his entire career in the Nixon White House (January 18, 1969 – April 30, 1973). The full text of the diaries is almost 750,000 words, and an abridged version was published as The Haldeman Diaries after Haldeman's death. A full version is available to researchers at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum.
Gaining a reputation as a stern taskmaster who expected top-notch work, he and John Ehrlichman were called "the Berlin Wall" by other White House staffers in a play on their German family names and shared penchant for keeping others away from Nixon and serving as his "gatekeepers". They became Nixon's most loyal and trusted aides during his presidency. Both were keen in protecting what they regarded as Nixon's best interests. He and the president were very close – Haldeman was even dubbed "the president's son-of-a-bitch"[8] – and Nixon relied on him to filter information that came into his office and to make sure that information was properly dispensed.
Role in Watergate
Haldeman was one of the various key figures in the Watergate scandal.
The
The unexplained 18+1⁄2 minute gap in Nixon's Oval Office recordings occurred during a discussion that included the President and Haldeman on June 20, 1972.
Nixon requested the resignations of Haldeman and Ehrlichman in what has been described as a long and emotional meeting at
On January 1, 1975, Haldeman was convicted of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and three counts of perjury. He was sentenced to serve 2+1⁄2 to 8 years, subsequently commuted to 1 to 4 years. In Lompoc Federal Prison, Haldeman worked in a facility testing sewage. On December 20, 1978, after serving 18 months, Haldeman was released on parole.
The Ends of Power
In 1978, Times Books published The Ends of Power, written by Haldeman with the writer Joseph DiMona.[12][13] Haldeman wrote in the book that Nixon had initiated the break-in and had participated in the cover-up from the onset.[2]
A passage in The Ends of Power has been claimed to support allegations linking Watergate to the assassination of John F. Kennedy.[9][10]
James Woods portrayed Haldeman in Oliver Stone's 1995 film Nixon, which presents the scenario that Nixon attempted to use the CIA's hidden anti-Castro history to help cover up his own misdeeds during Watergate.[14][15] Stone credited the comments attributed to Haldeman in The Ends of Power as the source for his scenario.[14]
According to political commentator Chris Matthews, Haldeman denied writing those words and said the theory of events actually belonged to DiMona. Matthews reported that Haldeman said he had no idea of what Nixon meant by the "whole Bay of Pigs thing" comments.[14] Noting that Stone had implicated Nixon as having a role in planning a plot to kill Castro, Howard Rosenberg described it as "one of the most controversial themes of his movie".[15] A response by Nixon writers Steven Rivele and Christopher Wilkinson stated that DiMona, Haldeman's ghostwriter, had confirmed that it was Haldeman's conclusion that "the Bay of Pigs thing" was a code for the Kennedy assassination.[16]
Later life
In his post-prison years, Haldeman went on to have a successful career as a businessman. Haldeman and Buzz Aldrin, representing Americom International Corp in collaboration with Radisson Hotels, signed an agreement to establish the first U.S. hotel and business complex venture within the former Soviet Union in Moscow. This agreement was signed during a ceremony held in conjunction with the US-USSR Trade and Economic Council.[17] Haldeman also worked on development and real estate, and opened eight Sizzler Steak Houses in Florida.[18][19]
Death
On November 12, 1993, after refusing medical treatment in accordance with his
Upon Haldeman's death, Richard Nixon said in a statement, "I have known Bob Haldeman to be a man of rare intelligence, strength, integrity and courage. He played an indispensable role in turbulent times as our Administration undertook a broad range of initiatives at home and abroad."[7] His White House diaries were released posthumously as The Haldeman Diaries in 1994.[20]
See also
References
- ISBN 978-0804138246. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
- ^ New York Times. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
- ^ California State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State; Haldeman, H. R. (1991). Oral History Interview with H.R. Haldeman. Oral History Program Interviewed by Dale E. Treleven. California State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State, Sacramento.
- ^ "California State Archives State Government Oral History Program – Oral History Interview with H. R. Haldeman" (PDF). sos.ca.gov. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
- ISBN 9781604266047.
- ^ Snyder, James Thomas (Winter 1999). "Did Watergate Cover-Up Mindset Start With a Dead Dog at a UCLA Fraternity?" (PDF). California Historian. p. 12. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
- ^ Washington Post Company. p. A12. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
- ^ Haldeman, Peter (April 3, 1994). "Growing Up A Haldeman". The New York Times. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
- ^ ISBN 1-57607-812-4.
- ^ ISBN 9781586480295. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
- ^ "YouTube – Nixon Tapes: Nixon Drunk over Watergate (Haldeman)". YouTube. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ "The Ends of Power". Kirkus Reviews. March 10, 1978.
- ^ Blumenthal, Ralph (November 11, 1999). "Joseph DiMona, 76, Writer; Co-Author of Haldeman Memoir". The New York Times. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
- ^ Hearst Newspapers. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
- ^ a b Rosenberg, Howard (December 22, 1995). "'Nixon' Plays Its Share of Dirty Tricks on History". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
- ^ Rivele, Stephen J.; Wilkinson, Christopher (January 1, 1996). "Critic's Ploy to Review 'Nixon' Is the Only Dirty Trick". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
- ^ "Pacific Daily News from Agana Heights, Guam". Newspapers.com. May 25, 1990. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
- ^ Kristof, Nicholas (July 13, 1986). "THE SUCCESS OF THE 'PRESIDENT'S MEN'". The New York Times. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
- ^ "The Daily Telegraph from London, Greater London, England". Newspapers.com. November 15, 1993. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
- ^ Ostrow, Ronald J.; Jackson, Robert L. (May 18, 1994). "Haldeman's Diaries Show Nixon's Dark, Human Sides : History: Secret memoir tells of President's alternate glee and guilt at provoking antiwar demonstrators". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
Further reading
- Haldeman, H. R. (1994). The Haldeman Diaries: Inside the Nixon White House. New York: Putnam. ISBN 978-1-879371-86-6.
- Haldeman, Joanne H. (2017). In The Shadow Of The White House. Vireo/Rare Bird. ISBN 9781945572081.
- Trzaskowski, Niklas. " 'Manager of Progress and Process': The Life and Times of HR Haldeman." (PhD dissertation, Mississippi State University 2019). online
External links
- H.R. Haldeman testifying at the Watergate Hearings WETA-TV, 1973 Watergate Hearings
- Washington Post profile of Haldeman
- Washington Post Haldeman Obituary[dead link]
- Ford Library & Museum:The Watergate Files
- Ron Schuler's Parlour Tricks: H.R. Haldeman
- Watergate trial of H.R. Haldeman, courtroom sketches.
- The Testimony of John Ehrlichman & H. R. Haldeman at Smithsonian Folkways
- Appearances on C-SPAN