William Howard Taft IV (born September 13, 1945) is an
attorney who has served in the United States government under several
Republican administrations. He is the son of
William Howard Taft III
William Howard Taft III (August 7, 1915 – February 23, 1991) was an American diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to Ireland from 1953 to 1957, and was a grandson of President William Howard Taft and First Lady Helen Louise "Nellie ...
and the great-grandson of
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...
.
Early life and education
Taft was born in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...
, the second child of
William Howard Taft III
William Howard Taft III (August 7, 1915 – February 23, 1991) was an American diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to Ireland from 1953 to 1957, and was a grandson of President William Howard Taft and First Lady Helen Louise "Nellie ...
and Barbara Bradfield, and a great-grandson of U.S. President
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...
. Taft attended
St. Paul's School, graduating in 1962. He earned his bachelor of arts degree in English from
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the worl ...
in 1966 and his law degree from
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States.
Each class i ...
in 1969.
Personal life
He and his late wife,
Julia Vadala Taft
Julia Ann Vadala Taft (July 27, 1942 – March 15, 2008) was a United States official who was involved in international humanitarian assistance, and who served as Director of the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance from 1986 to 1989, and a ...
, had three children—Maria Consetta Taft, Julia Harris Taft, and William Howard Taft V.
Career
After researching the FTC as one of "
Nader's Raiders", Taft served briefly as attorney adviser to the chairman of the
Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction ov ...
in 1970.
From 1970 to 1973, he was the principal assistant to
Caspar W. Weinberger, who was deputy director, then director, of the
Office of Management and Budget
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, poli ...
in the
Executive Office of the President
The Executive Office of the President (EOP) comprises the offices and agencies that support the work of the president at the center of the executive branch of the United States federal government. The EOP consists of several offices and agenci ...
under President
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
. Taft assisted him in the management of the budgetary process, policy review, and program oversight for the entire federal government.
Taft married
Julia Vadala in 1974.
Taft served from 1973 to 1976 as the
executive assistant
A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a wh ...
to the
United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare
The United States secretary of health and human services is the head of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all health matters. The secretary is ...
. In April 1976 Taft was appointed by President
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...
to serve as
general counsel
A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department.
In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their d ...
of the
Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...
. In that post, as the chief lawyer for the department and the principal administrator of the Office of the General Counsel, he supervised over 350 lawyers in Washington and 10 regional offices.
During the
Carter administration
Jimmy Carter's tenure as the 39th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 1977, and ended on January 20, 1981. A Democrat from Georgia, Carter took office after defeating incumbent Republican Presiden ...
, he was an attorney with the Washington, D.C.
law firm
A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to r ...
of
Leva, Hawes, Symington, Martin and Oppenheimer.
In February 1981, as one of his first appointments, President
Ronald Reagan appointed Taft as
General Counsel of the Department of Defense
The General Counsel of the Department of Defense is the chief legal officer of the Department of Defense (DoD), advising both the Secretary and Deputy Secretary on all legal matters and services, and providing legal advice to Office of the Secret ...
. Taft was then appointed
Deputy Secretary of Defense
The deputy secretary of defense (acronym: DepSecDef) is a statutory office () and the second-highest-ranking official in the Department of Defense of the United States of America.
The deputy secretary is the principal civilian deputy to the se ...
and served from January 1984 to April 1989.
He served as acting
Secretary of Defense from January to March 1989 after
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; p ...
became president. Bush's initial nominee,
John Tower
John Goodwin Tower (September 29, 1925 – April 5, 1991) was an American politician, serving as a Republican United States Senator from Texas from 1961 to 1985. He was the first Republican Senator elected from Texas since Reconstruction. Towe ...
, was not confirmed by the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and power ...
after much contentious debate and testimony. The eventual appointee confirmed in March was
Richard B. Cheney (later
Vice President of the United States
The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice pr ...
, 2001–2009). Although he was only acting Secretary of Defense, and never confirmed as the permanent Secretary, he became the third member of his family to hold a position as civilian head of a military department, following his great-great-grandfather
Alphonso Taft
Alphonso Taft (November 5, 1810 – May 21, 1891) was an American jurist, diplomat, politician, Attorney General and Secretary of War under President Ulysses S. Grant. He was also the founder of the Taft political dynasty, and father of Presiden ...
(under President
Ulysses S. Grant) and his great-grandfather
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...
(under President
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
).
Taft served as
U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO, which has the rank of ambassador, from 1989 to 1992, during the
Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
.
During the
Clinton administration
Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following a decisive election victory over ...
, Taft entered private practice with the
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...
, law firm of
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP (known as Fried Frank), is an international law firm headquartered in New York City. The firm also has offices in Washington, D.C., London, Frankfurt, and Brussels, and has more than 500 attorneys wor ...
.
Service in George W. Bush administration
After the election of 2000,
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
appointed Taft to serve as
chief legal advisor to the
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nat ...
under Secretary of State
Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell ( ; April 5, 1937 – October 18, 2021) was an American politician, statesman, diplomat, and United States Army officer who served as the 65th United States Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African ...
, with whom he was reportedly friends. This appointment was technically a significantly lower appointment than he had held in other administrations, but it permitted him to work with his wife,
Julia Taft
Julia Ann Vadala Taft (July 27, 1942 – March 15, 2008) was a United States official who was involved in international humanitarian assistance, and who served as Director of the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance from 1986 to 1989, and a ...
, a top State Department official in charge of
refugees
A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a forced displacement, displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution. who also served during the Clinton administration.
While serving as Legal Adviser, Taft wrote two seminal law journal articles regarding the views of the United States on the legality of the use of military force. First, in connection with the decision of the
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...
in the
Oil Platforms case, Taft countered a series of propositions that the court appeared to accept regarding the principles governing the use of force. This included his conclusion that "There is no requirement in international law that a State exercising its right of self-defence must use the same degree or type of force used by the attacking State in its most recent attack. Rather, the proportionality of the measures taken in self-defence is to be judged according to the nature of the threat being addressed." Second, Taft coauthored (with
Todd F. Buchwald) an article in the Americal Journal of International Law that set forth the official
United States Government
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...
view regarding the permissibility under international law of the use of force by the United States and Coalition forces during the
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Ba'athist Iraq, Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one mont ...
. The article concluded that the preemptive use of force in Iraq is lawful where, as in Iraq, "it represents an episode in an ongoing broader conflict initiated--without question-- by the opponent and where, as here, it is consistent with the resolutions of the Security Council.
In 2004, Taft's name surfaced as a dissenter concerning the policy of interrogation techniques for military detainees. In a January 11, 2002, memo, Taft opposed
Department of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
lawyers to argue that the president could not "suspend" U.S. obligations to respect the
Geneva Conventions
upright=1.15, Original document in single pages, 1864
The Geneva Conventions are four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term ''Geneva Conven ...
and that a legal argument to do so was "legally flawed and procedurally impossible." This was also the position of
Secretary Powell, who attempted to persuade Bush to reconsider.
Alberto R. Gonzales, the White House counsel, subsequently advised Bush in a memo that Taft and Powell were wrong and the Justice Department's analysis was "definitive." Gonzales claimed terrorist attacks "require a new approach in our actions toward captured terrorists," and argued that if suspected terrorists had never respected the Geneva Conventions' human rights protections, the U.S. didn't need to do so.
Leaving government service
After the re-election of President Bush, resignation of
Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell ( ; April 5, 1937 – October 18, 2021) was an American politician, statesman, diplomat, and United States Army officer who served as the 65th United States Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African ...
and appointment of
Condoleezza Rice as secretary of state, Taft resigned to return to private practice, again at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson. Currently he is a visiting professor at
Stanford Law School
Stanford Law School (Stanford Law or SLS) is the law school of Stanford University, a private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world. Stanford La ...
, having succeeded
Allen Weiner as the Warren Christopher Professor of the Practice of International Law and Diplomacy in 2007.
["William Taft IV to Join Stanford Law School as the Warren Christopher Professor of the Practice of International Law and Diplomacy"]
Stanford Law School
Stanford Law School (Stanford Law or SLS) is the law school of Stanford University, a private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world. Stanford La ...
, April 4, 2007 In January 2009 he was named chair of the board of trustees for
Freedom House
Freedom House is a non-profit, majority U.S. government funded organization in Washington, D.C., that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, and Wendell Will ...
, an independent watchdog organization that supports the expansion of freedom around the world.
On September 12, 2006, Taft co-signed (along with 28 other retired military or defense department officials) a letter to the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Armed Services committee in which he stated his belief that the Bush Administration's attempt to redefine
Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention
upright=1.15, Original document in single pages, 1864
The Geneva Conventions are four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term ''Geneva Conven ...
"poses a grave threat" to U.S. service members.
Taft is said to be one of the sources who told journalists
David Corn
David Corn (born February 20, 1959) is an American political journalist and author. He is the Washington, D.C. bureau chief for ''Mother Jones'' and is best known as a cable television commentator. Corn worked at ''The Nation'' from 1987 to 200 ...
and
Michael Isikoff
Michael Isikoff (born June 16, 1952) is an American investigative journalist who is currently the Chief Investigative Correspondent at Yahoo! News. He is the co-author with David Corn of the book titled '' Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of P ...
that former Deputy Secretary of State
Richard Armitage was the source syndicated columnist
Robert Novak
Robert David Sanders Novak (February 26, 1931 – August 18, 2009) was an American syndicated columnist, journalist, television personality, author, and conservative political commentator. After working for two newspapers before serving in the ...
had when he made public the fact that
Valerie Wilson worked for the CIA. In a review of Corn's and Isikoff's book, ''Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War'', Novak wrote: "I don't know precisely how Isikoff flushed out Armitage
s Novak's original source but ''Hubris'' clearly points to two sources: Washington lobbyist
Kenneth Duberstein
Kenneth Marc Duberstein (April 21, 1944 – March 2, 2022) was an American lobbyist who served as U.S. President Ronald Reagan's White House Chief of Staff from 1988 to 1989.
Early life and education
Duberstein was born to a Jewish family in ...
, Armitage's political adviser, and William Taft IV, who was the State Department legal adviser when Armitage was deputy secretary."
[Novak, Robert, "Who Said What When: The rise and fall of the Valerie Plame 'scandal']
, The Weekly Standard
''The Weekly Standard'' was an American neoconservative political magazine of news, analysis and commentary, published 48 times per year. Originally edited by founders Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, the ''Standard'' had been described as a "re ...
, October 16, 2006, book review of ''Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War'', by Michael Isikoff and David Corn, accessed October 8, 2008
Though a staunch Republican, Taft opposed the
2016 presidential campaign
This national electoral calendar for 2016 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2016 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included.
January
*7 January: Kiri ...
of
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
, declaring alongside 49 other Republican former national security officials that he would not vote for the candidate. In
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...
, Taft again rebuked his party, endorsing
Democrat Joe Biden over Trump.
In 2020, Taft, along with over 130 other former Republican national security officials, signed a statement that asserted that President Trump was unfit to serve another term, and "To that end, we are firmly convinced that it is in the best interest of our nation that Vice President Joe Biden be elected as the next President of the United States, and we will vote for him."
References
External links
United States Department of State: US Ambassadors to NATO*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Taft, William Howard IV
1945 births
American people of English descent
Atlantic Council
Ford administration personnel
George H. W. Bush administration personnel
George W. Bush administration personnel
Harvard Law School alumni
Lawyers from Washington, D.C.
Lawyers who have represented the United States government
Living people
Nixon administration personnel
People associated with Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson
Permanent Representatives of the United States to NATO
Reagan administration personnel
St. Paul's School (New Hampshire) alumni
Taft family
United States Deputy Secretaries of Defense
Washington, D.C., Republicans
Yale University alumni