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Robert McNamara
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8th United States Secretary of Defense
In office
January 21, 1961 – February 29, 1968
President John F. Kennedy
Lyndon B. Johnson
Deputy Roswell Gilpatric, Cyrus Vance, Paul Nitze
Preceded by Thomas S. Gates, Jr.
Succeeded by Clark Clifford
5th President of the World Bank
In office
April 1968 – June 1981
Preceded by George David Woods
Succeeded by Alden W. Clausen
Personal details
Born (1916-06-09)June 9, 1916
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Died July 6, 2009 (aged 93)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political party Republican
Spouses Margaret Craig (m. 1940-1981, her death)
Diana Masieri Byfield (m. 2004-2009, his death)
Alma mater University of California, Berkeley Harvard University
Awards Legion of Merit
Military service
Branch/service United States Army
Years of service 1943-1946
Rank Lieutenant Colonel

Robert Strange McNamara (June 9, 1916 - July 6, 2009) was an American business leader and a former United States Secretary of Defense. He worked as an executive at Ford Motor Company. Later, he served as Defense Secretary from 1961 to 1968. This was during the Vietnam War, when John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson were presidents. After that, he was the President of the World Bank from 1968 to 1981. His family had Irish roots on his father's side.

Early life and education

Robert McNamara was born in San Francisco into an Irish family. He finished high school in 1933. He was an Eagle Scout, which is the highest rank in the Boy Scouts. He then went to the University of California Berkeley. There, he earned a degree in economics. After that, he studied at Harvard University and got his MBA degree.

After working as an accountant for a short time, he taught at Harvard. In 1940, he married his high school girlfriend, Margaret Craig. In 1943, he joined the Air Force. During World War II, he studied how well bombers were working. He rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. For his service, he received the Legion of Merit award.

Business career at Ford

In 1946, McNamara joined a group of ten people, including Charles "Tex" Thornton. They all knew each other from the military. This group was hired by Ford Motor Company, which was having a tough time. They were known as the "Whiz Kids."

The Whiz Kids made many changes at Ford. These changes helped the company make more money. Its cars also started getting better reviews and selling more. McNamara quickly moved up in the company. In 1960, he became the President of Ford. He helped launch popular car models like the Lincoln Continental and the Ford Falcon. He also introduced some of the first modern safety features in cars.

Secretary of Defense

In 1960, John F. Kennedy was elected president. Kennedy asked Robert A. Lovett to be his Defense Secretary. Lovett said no but suggested McNamara for the job. McNamara was considered for both Defense and Treasury Secretary roles. This was even though he was a member of the Republican Party, and Kennedy was a Democrat. McNamara wasn't interested in being Treasury Secretary. However, he eventually agreed to be Kennedy's Secretary of Defense.

McNamara was known for using facts and numbers to make decisions about the military. He wanted to make the military more efficient. He tried to stop wasteful spending. Often, he did this by combining different programs into one more effective program. He also worked to end unfair treatment based on race and gender in the U.S. Military.

While working for President Kennedy, he became good friends with Robert F. Kennedy. Robert F. Kennedy was the Attorney General and the president's brother. McNamara strongly supported the space program. He was one of the first government officials to suggest sending people to the moon. In 1961, he wrote a recommendation to Kennedy supporting a moon mission. Kennedy then made the moon mission a top goal for NASA. The U.S. first went to the moon in 1969.

McNamara changed the "Massive Retaliation" policy. This policy meant the U.S. would respond with huge force to any attack. Instead, McNamara put in place "flexible response." This policy allowed for more options to defend the U.S. President Kennedy wanted to fight communist revolutions to stop the Soviet Union from gaining more power. McNamara supported this idea.

He also played a big part in peacefully ending the Cuban Missile Crisis. He advised Kennedy to block Cuba. This would stop the Soviet Union from bringing more missiles there. Kennedy agreed, and their plan worked.

Vietnam War involvement

John F. Kennedy was killed in 1963. His successor, Lyndon Johnson, kept McNamara as Defense Secretary. McNamara became a key leader in the Vietnam War. He and General William Westmoreland were the two main American military leaders during the war.

To stop the communists from taking over Vietnam, McNamara sent more troops to the country. Over several years, this prevented the North Vietnamese Army from winning quickly. However, many American soldiers were killed. This made the war very unpopular with the American people.

McNamara and President Johnson strongly disagreed on how many troops to send. McNamara wanted to stop increasing troops, but Johnson wanted to send more. McNamara resigned from the Defense Department in 1968. Johnson did not run for reelection that year. Richard Nixon won the election, promising to end the war. Nixon signed a peace treaty in 1973. However, the North Vietnamese eventually won the war after the U.S. pulled out.

McNamara tried to manage the war using data and statistics. He appointed General Westmoreland to lead the forces in Vietnam. The goal was to reach a "cross-over point." This meant when the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and Viet Cong (VC) losses in South Vietnam would be greater than their ability to replace them.

The North Vietnamese Army launched a big surprise attack called the Tet Offensive. The news in the U.S. reported it as a major defeat for the U.S. forces. However, it was actually a big success for the U.S. and South Vietnam. The NVA suffered huge losses. But the way it was reported changed how Americans felt about the war.

McNamara later resigned, finding it hard to accept the problems with his methods and his own role in the war.

Later career and legacy

After leaving the Defense Department, McNamara received the Medal of Freedom. This is a very high honor for civilians. He also published a book. He was then hired as President of the World Bank.

In 1972, he was in the news when a man tried to throw him into the ocean from a ferry boat. McNamara told the police not to press charges. While at the World Bank, he focused on reducing poverty around the world. He was the first World Bank leader to make this the organization's main goal. He was often praised for this work. McNamara also helped the World Bank fight diseases. He retired from the World Bank in 1981.

He wrote a memoir (a book about his life) in 1995. McNamara enjoyed cooking and started an orchard business after he retired. A movie about him, called The Fog of War, was released in 2003. It included interviews and old clips. He was also a trustee for the California Institute of Technology and the Brookings Institution. There is a scholarship at the World Bank named in his honor.

In his later life, McNamara said that he, along with the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, "were wrong" about Vietnam. He stated that if he had known in the 1960s what he knew later, he would have made different choices.

Robert McNamara died in Washington D.C. in 2009. He was 93 years old. He is buried at the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.



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