Upon graduating from the U.S. Military Academy in 1947, Alexander M. Haig was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army, serving in Japan with the 1st Cavalry Division and on the staff of General Douglas MacArthur, in the Korean War with the X Corps and as aide to Lieutenant General Edward M. (Ned) Almond, and in Europe. He served in the Pentagon from 1962-1965 and in Vietnam in 1966-1967 as battalion and brigade commander, receiving the Distinguished Service Cross for heroism.
Among his many other military decorations are the Defense Distinguished Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Silver Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Purple heart, and decorations from Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, Morocco, France, Italy, Luxemburg, the Netherlands and Portugal.
In January 1969, Alexander Haig became the Senior Military Advisor to the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, Dr. Henry Kissinger, and later became Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. In 1972, he was promoted to full General. During his four years in the White House, he served as the personal emissary of the President to negotiate the Vietnam ceasefire and the return of U.S. prisoners of war. He also coordinated President Nixon’s historic visit to China. General Haig was serving as Vice Chief of Staff of the Army when President Nixon named him White House Chief of Staff, at which point he retired after twenty-six years in the Army.
In October 1974 at his request, President Ford recalled him to active duty as Commander-in-Chief, U.S. European. Two months later he was appointed Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, responsible for the integrated military forces of NATO. In 1979, Alexander Haig resigned his post and retired from the Army. He was elected president and COO of United Technologies Corporation, also serving on its board of directors. In January 1981, he was sworn in as the 59th U.S. Secretary of State.
General Alexander Haig is currently chairman of his own advisory firm, Worldwide Associates, Inc., assisting corporations around the world in providing strategic advice on global, political, economic, commercial and security matters. He is host of the weekly television program, “World Business Review,” and is a member of the board of directors of Metro-Goldwyn Mayer, Inc, MGM Mirage, inc., Indevus Pharmaceuticals, inc., and the Chairman of the Board of DOR BioPharma, Inc. He was a founding Director of America Online, Inc.
General Haig is the author of two books: Caveat: Realism, Reagan and Foreign Policy (1984), and his autobiography, Inner Circles: How America Changed the World – A Memoir (1992).
Alexander Haig is married to the former Patricia Fox. The Haigs are the parents of three children and have eight grandchildren.
