Robert Wesley Page (January 22, 1927 – June 29, 2010) was an American businessman who served as
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works)
Assistant may refer to:
* Assistant (by Speaktoit), a virtual assistant app for smartphones
* Assistant (software), a software tool to assist in computer configuration
* Google Assistant, a virtual assistant by Google
* ''The Assistant'' (TV se ...
from 1987 to 1990.
Biography
Page was born on January 22, 1927, in
Dallas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
,
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, he served in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
in the
Pacific Theater
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
. After the war, he attended
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...
, graduating with a B.S. in 1951.
Page was recruited by the
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
after graduation. He spent over two years with the agency, including an assignment in
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
. Later in the 1950s, Page taught engineering at the
American University of Beirut
The American University of Beirut (AUB; ) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its main campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, autonomous board of trustees and offers programs le ...
.
From 1961 to 1962, Page was vice president of the Southeast Drilling Company. He was assistant general manager at
Bechtel
Bechtel Corporation () is an American engineering, procurement, construction, and project management company founded in San Francisco, California in 1898, and headquartered in Reston, Virginia in the Washington metropolitan area. , the '' E ...
from 1962 to 1967. In 1967, he became vice president of construction of Rockefeller Family and Associates, working there until 1972 when he became president and CEO of the George A. Fuller Co. From 1976 to 1981, he was president and CEO of the Rust Engineering Co. He became president and CEO of M.W. Kellogg in 1981, and was then president and CEO of Kellogg Rust, Inc. from 1983 to 1984. He remained at Kellogg, Rust, Inc. until 1987. He was Chairman of the
Panama Canal Commission
The Panama Canal Zone (), also known as just the Canal Zone, was a concession of the United States located in the Isthmus of Panama that existed from 1903 to 1979. It consisted of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending on each side o ...
from December 1985 until May 1987.
In 1987,
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
nominated Page as
Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works)
Assistant may refer to:
* Assistant (by Speaktoit), a virtual assistant app for smartphones
* Assistant (software), a software tool to assist in computer configuration
* Google Assistant, a virtual assistant by Google
* ''The Assistant'' (TV se ...
, and he assumed office in December 1987. He was later re-nominated to the post by
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
and served as Assistant Secretary until October 1990.
After leaving government service, Page was executive vice president of McDermott International, Inc., from 1991 until 1994.
Personal
Page was the son of Archie Cleo Page (December 20, 1899 – May 4, 1980) and Zelma Tyler (September 4, 1910 – March 20, 1967), who were married on March 28, 1925 but later divorced.
Page married Nancy Anne Eaton on July 13, 1952, in
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...
. The couple had three sons and a daughter.
Page died at his home in the Georgetown neighborhood of
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...