Anthony Joseph Principi (born April 16, 1944) is the former United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs. He was appointed by President

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 ...

on January 23, 2001, and resigned on January 26, 2005. He Chaired the 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission, BRAC and is currently serving as a Consultant & Board member of several diverse Foundations & Corporations.

Early life

Principi was born in the East Bronx on April 16, 1944. He grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey and attended St. Anastasia School there during his younger years. He graduated from Mount Saint Michael Academy in 1962 as the school's top athlete and

student council A student council (also known as a student union, associated student body or student parliament) is an administrative organization of students in different educational institutes ranging from elementary schools to universities and research or ...

president. In 1967, Principi graduated from the United States Naval Academy at

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

, Maryland. He first saw active duty aboard the destroyer '' USS Joseph P. Kennedy''. Principi later served in the Vietnam War, commanding a River Patrol Unit in the

Mekong Delta The Mekong Delta ( vi, Đồng bằng Sông Cửu Long, lit=Nine Dragon River Delta or simply vi, Đồng Bằng Sông Mê Kông, lit=Mekong River Delta, label=none), also known as the Western Region ( vi, Miền Tây, links=no) or South-weste ...

. Principi earned his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree from Seton Hall in 1975, transferred from the

Unrestricted Line An unrestricted line officer (shortened to URL officer) is a designator given to a commissioned officer of the line in the United States Navy, who is eligible for command at sea of the navy's warfighting combatant units such as warships, submari ...

as a Surface Warfare Officer to the Judge Advocate General Corps (JAGC) and was assigned to the United States Navy's JAGC office in San Diego. In 1980, he was transferred to Washington as a legislative counsel for the

Department of the Navy Navy Department or Department of the Navy may refer to: * United States Department of the Navy, * Navy Department (Ministry of Defence), in the United Kingdom, 1964-1997 * Confederate States Department of the Navy, 1861-1865 * Department of the Na ...

. He left active duty in 1980 after 14 years of commissioned service to serve as Republican counsel to the Senate Armed Services Committee at the invitation of Senator John Tower of Texas.

Career

Principi has worked on national policy issues and has held several executive-level positions in federal government throughout his career. He chaired the Federal Quality Institute in 1991, and was chairman of the Commission on Servicemembers and Veterans Transition Assistance established by Congress in 1996. Principi served as Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs, VA's second-highest executive position, from March 17, 1989, to September 26, 1992, when he was named Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs by President

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; pr ...

. He served in that position until January 1993. Following that appointment, he served as Republican chief counsel and staff director of the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services. From 1984 to 1988, he served as Republican chief counsel and staff director of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. He was the Veterans Administration's assistant deputy administrator for congressional and public affairs from 1983 to 1984, following three years as counsel to the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. On March 15, 2005, President George W. Bush appointed nine members to serve on the 2005 BRAC Commission, with Principi to serve as the chairman. In October 2015, Principi was elected to the

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

Imprimis Pharmaceuticals Harrow Health, formerly known as Imprimis Pharmaceuticals, is a publicly traded pharmaceutical company () based in Nashville, TN. Since 2014, Harrow has started six healthcare businesses, including ImprimisRx, an ophthalmic-focused pharmaceuti ...

References

External links

* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Principi, Anthony 1944 births 21st-century American politicians United States Navy personnel of the Vietnam War California lawyers California Republicans George W. Bush administration cabinet members Lawyers who have represented the United States government Living people People from Teaneck, New Jersey Seton Hall University School of Law alumni United States Deputy Secretaries of Veterans Affairs United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy officers United States Secretaries of Veterans Affairs