Donald Rumsfeld facts for kids

Donald Rumsfeld
Quick facts for kids Donald Rumsfeld
21st United States Secretary of Defense
	In office; January 20, 2001 – December 18, 2006
President	George W. Bush
Deputy	Paul Wolfowitz (2001-2005); Gordon R. England (2005-2007)
Preceded by	William Cohen
Succeeded by	Robert Gates
13th United States Secretary of Defense
	In office; November 20, 1975 – January 20, 1977
President	Gerald Ford
Deputy	Bill Clements
Preceded by	James R. Schlesinger
Succeeded by	Harold Brown
6th White House Chief of Staff
	In office; September 1974 – November 20, 1975
President	Gerald Ford
Preceded by	Alexander Haig
Succeeded by	Dick Cheney
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives; from Illinois's 13th Congressional district
	In office; January 3, 1963 – March 20, 1969
Preceded by	Marguerite S. Church
Succeeded by	Phil Crane
Personal details
Born	July 9, 1932; Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	June 29, 2021 (aged 88); Taos, New Mexico, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Joyce H. Pierson
Children	Valerie J. Rumsfeld Richard; Marcy K. Rumsfeld Walczak; Donald Nicholas Rumsfeld
Alma mater	Princeton University; Georgetown University Law Center
Military service
Branch/service	United States Navy
Rank	Captain

Donald Hebb Rumsfeld (July 9, 1932 – June 29, 2021) was a United States businessman and politician. Rumsfeld was the 13th United States Secretary of Defense under President Gerald Ford from 1975 to 1977, and the 21st Secretary of Defense under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2006.

He was both the youngest (43 years old) and the oldest (74 years old) person to have held the position, as well as the only person to have held the position for two non-consecutive terms. Rumsfeld was also the second-longest serving Secretary of Defense, behind Robert McNamara.

Rumsfeld was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois between 1963 until 1969. He was also the Ambassador to NATO from 1973 until 1974. He was also the White House Chief of Staff from 1974 until 1975 during the Gerald Ford presidency.

He ran for President of the United States in the 1988 election, but withdrew before any primary contests were held. He thought about running again in the 1996 election, but did not run and helped Bob Dole's campaign.

Rumsfeld died of multiple myeloma at his ranch in Taos, New Mexico on June 29, 2021 at the age of 88.

Images for kids

Rumsfeld's 1954 yearbook portrait from Princeton
Rumsfeld during his time in Congress
Rumsfeld with his son, Nick, in the Oval Office with President Nixon, 1973
Chief of Staff Rumsfeld (left) and Deputy-Chief of Staff Dick Cheney (right) meet with President Ford, April 1975
Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld shares a laugh with President Ford in a Cabinet meeting, 1975
Rumsfeld is administered the oath of office as the 21st Secretary of Defense on January 20, 2001 by Director of Administration and Management David O. Cooke (left), as Joyce Rumsfeld holds the Bible in a ceremony at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building
"The Pentagon is functioning" was the message Rumsfeld stressed during a press conference in the Pentagon briefing room barely eight hours after terrorists crashed a hijacked commercial jetliner into the Pentagon. Rumsfeld is flanked, left to right, by Secretary of the Army Tom White, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Hugh Shelton, and Senators John Warner (R-VA), and Carl Levin (D-MI), the Ranking Member and Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Excerpt from Donald Rumsfeld memo dated Nov 27 2001
Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld (left) and the Commander of U.S. Central Command General Tommy Franks, listen to a question at the close of a Pentagon press conference on March 5, 2003. Rumsfeld and Franks gave reporters an operational update and fielded questions on the possible conflict in Iraq.
Secretary Rumsfeld responds to a reporter's question during a Pentagon press briefing. Rumsfeld and General Richard Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, gave reporters an operational update on Operation Iraqi Freedom on October 2, 2003.
Rumsfeld poses with Marines during one of his trips to Camp Fallujah, Iraq, on Christmas Eve 2004.
Rumsfeld with former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher alongside the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace, 2006
Rumsfeld shakes President Bush's hand as he announces his resignation, November 8, 2006.
Rumsfeld shares a laugh with his successor, Robert Gates, at a ceremony to unveil his official portrait as Secretary of Defense, June 25, 2010
Dedication ceremony of the Pentagon Memorial in 2008
Rumsfeld gives the command at the 2005 Pepsi 400, which he served as the grand marshal
Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, President Ford and Rumsfeld in Vladivostok, Soviet Union, November 1974
Rumsfeld and Victoria Nuland at the NATO-Ukraine consultations in Vilnius, Lithuania, on October 24, 2005