Jerry H. Jones

Last updated
Jerry Jones
White House Staff Secretary
In office
May 1974 May 1975
President Richard Nixon
Gerald Ford
Preceded by Bruce A. Kehrli
Succeeded by James E. Connor
Personal details
Born (1939-06-13) June 13, 1939 (age 82)
Lamesa, Texas, U.S.
Education Harvard University (BA, MBA)

Jerry H. Jones (born June 13, 1939) is an American political aide who served as White House Staff Secretary from 1974 to 1977 during the Ford Administration.

Contents

Early life and education

Jones was born and raised in Lamesa, Texas, the son of two ranchers. [1] He played football in high school until an injury ended his career. As a junior, he was accepted to a summer program at Phillips Exeter Academy and eventually graduated from the school. Jones earned a Bachelor of Arts in government from Harvard University and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School. [2]

Career

After graduating from business school, Jones worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company in New York City. Jones later moved to Chicago to establish a small business, but lost it during the Nixon shock.

Through a friend from business school, Fred Malek, Jones helped restructure the White House Presidential Personnel Office during the Nixon Administration. Jones then worked for Nixon's 1972 re-election campaign. After the campaign, Jones returned to the Personnel Office amid the Watergate scandal. Jones became White House Staff Secretary in May 1974, and remained in the position upon the recommendation of Alexander Haig after Nixon resigned. The records Jones maintained during his tenure as Staff Secretary are housed at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. [3] [4] For the remainder of Ford's tenure as president, Jones served as Special Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Scheduling and Advance. [5]

Jones later worked as Special Assistant to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld under President George W. Bush. [6]

Related Research Articles

Watergate scandal Political scandal that occurred in the United States in the 1970s

The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of U.S. President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continual attempts to cover up its involvement in the June 17, 1972 break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Washington, D.C. Watergate Office Building. After the five perpetrators were arrested, the press and the U.S. Justice Department connected the cash found on them at the time to the Nixon re-election campaign committee. Further investigations, along with revelations during subsequent trials of the burglars, led the U.S. House of Representatives to grant its judiciary committee additional investigation authority to probe into "certain matters within its jurisdiction", and the U.S. Senate to create a special investigative committee. The resulting Senate Watergate hearings were broadcast "gavel-to-gavel" nationwide by PBS and aroused public interest. Witnesses testified that Nixon had approved plans to cover up administration involvement in the break-in, and that there was a voice-activated taping system in the Oval Office. Throughout the investigation, the administration resisted its probes, which led to a constitutional crisis.

Alexander Haig Former U.S. Secretary of State and U.S. Army general

Alexander Meigs Haig Jr. was the United States Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan and the White House chief of staff under presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Prior to these cabinet-level positions, he retired as a general from the United States Army, having been Supreme Allied Commander Europe after serving as the vice chief of staff of the Army. In 1973, he became the youngest four-star general in the U.S. Army's history.

Presidency of Gerald Ford U.S. presidential administration from 1974 to 1977

Gerald Ford's tenure as the 38th president of the United States began on August 9, 1974, upon the resignation of Richard Nixon from office, and ended on January 20, 1977, a period of 895 days. Ford, a Republican from Michigan, had served as vice president since December 6, 1973, following Spiro Agnew's resignation from that office. Ford has the distinction of being the only person to serve as president without being elected to either the presidency or the vice presidency. His presidency ended following his defeat in the 1976 presidential election by Democrat Jimmy Carter.

Alexander Butterfield American retired military officer, public servant, and businessman

Alexander Porter Butterfield is an American retired military officer, public servant, and businessman. He served as the deputy assistant to President Richard Nixon from 1969 to 1973. He revealed the White House taping system's existence on July 13, 1973, during the Watergate investigation, but had no other involvement in the scandal. From 1973 to 1975, he served as administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Larry Speakes Former White House spokesman

Larry Melvin Speakes was the acting White House Press Secretary for the White House under President Ronald Reagan, having held the position from 1981 to 1987.

David Gergen American political consultant

David Richmond Gergen is an American political commentator and former presidential adviser who served during the administrations of Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton. He is currently a senior political analyst for CNN and a professor of public service and the founding director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School. Gergen is also the former editor at large of U.S. News and World Report and a contributor to CNN.com and Parade Magazine. He has twice been a member of election coverage teams that won Peabody awards—in 1988 with MacNeil–Lehrer, and in 2008 with CNN.

White House Communications Director U.S. presidential staff member in charge of the White Houses media campaign

The White House Communications Director or White House Director of Communications, also known officially as Assistant to the President for Communications, is part of the senior staff of the President of the United States. The officeholder is responsible for developing and promoting the agenda of the president and leading its media campaign.

Gerald Lee "Jerry" Warren was a United States journalist and newspaper editor at The San Diego Union-Tribune. He served under Ron Ziegler as deputy press secretary in the Richard Nixon administration until 1974. He served as Nixon's de facto final White House Press Secretary after Ron Ziegler's appointment as Assistant to the President in June 1974, though Zielger kept the title. He then held the same position as well as White House Director of Communications in the Gerald Ford administration until 1975.

The Nixon White House tapes are audio recordings of conversations between U.S. President Richard Nixon and Nixon administration officials, Nixon family members, and White House staff, produced between 1971 and 1973.

Counselor to the President American political position

Counselor to the President is a title used by high-ranking political advisors to the president of the United States and senior members of the White House Office.

Michael Raoul-Duval was an investment banker and lawyer in the United States who had Senior White House positions while serving under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, where he rose to the position of Special Counsel to the President.

Gerald Ford 38th president of the United States (1974–77)

Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. Earlier, he served as leader of the Republican Party in the House of Representatives, and then as the 40th vice president of the United States from 1973 to 1974. When President Richard Nixon resigned in 1974, Ford succeeded to the presidency, but was defeated for election to a full term in 1976.

Inauguration of Gerald Ford 9th United States intra-term presidential inauguration

The inauguration of Gerald Ford as the 38th president of the United States was held on Friday, August 9, 1974, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., after President Richard Nixon, resigned due to the Watergate scandal. The inauguration – the last non-scheduled, extraordinary inauguration to take place in the 20th century – marked the commencement of Gerald Ford's only term as President. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger administered the oath of office. The Bible upon which Ford recited the oath was held by his wife, Betty Ford, open to Proverbs 3:5–6. Ford was the ninth Vice President of the United States to succeed to the presidency intra-term, and he remains the most recent to do so.

Geoff Shepard American lawyer, author and lecturer (born 1944)

Geoffrey Carroll "Geoff" Shepard is an American lawyer, author and lecturer.

Impeachment process against Richard Nixon 1973–1974 preliminary process to remove the President of the United States

The impeachment process against Richard Nixon began in the United States House of Representatives on October 30, 1973, following the series of high-level resignations and firings widely called the "Saturday Night Massacre" during the course of the Watergate scandal.

Pardon of Richard Nixon 1974 proclamation by U.S. President Gerald Ford

Proclamation 4311 was a presidential proclamation issued by President of the United States Gerald Ford on September 8, 1974, granting a full and unconditional pardon to Richard Nixon, his predecessor, for any crimes that he might have committed against the United States as president. In particular, the pardon covered Nixon's actions during the Watergate scandal. In a televised broadcast to the nation, Ford, who had succeeded to the presidency upon Nixon's resignation, explained that he felt the pardon was in the best interests of the country and that the Nixon family's situation was "a tragedy in which we all have played a part. It could go on and on and on, or someone must write the end to it. I have concluded that only I can do that, and if I can, I must."

Margita White

Margita White was an American White House press official under Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Gerald R. Ford. She was the first female Communications Director serving under President Ford from August 15, 1975 - July 1976. She was later commissioner with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the president of a lobbying group for new television technologies. She was a founding member of Executive Women in Government. White died of cancer November 20, 2002.

White House Director of Speechwriting

The White House Director of Speechwriting is a role within the Executive Office of the President of the United States. The officeholder serves as senior advisor and chief speechwriter to the President of the United States. They are also responsible for managing the Office of Speechwriting within the Office of Communications.

Jimmy Carter 1976 presidential campaign 1976 presidential campaign of Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter's 1976 presidential campaign resulted in the election of Jimmy Carter and his running mate Walter Mondale's as president and vice president of the United States, defeating incumbent Republican President Gerald Ford and his running mate Bob Dole. Carter, a Democrat and former governor of Georgia, launched his presidential bid in December 1974, as the Constitution of Georgia barred him from running for a second term as governor. In the wake of the Watergate scandal, the declining popularity of President Ford due to his pardon of Nixon, and the severe recession of 1974–75, many Democrats were sure of victory in the 1976 presidential election. As a result, 17 Democrats ran for their party's nomination in 1976. Carter's opponents mocked his candidacy by saying "Jimmy, who?", for his being relatively unknown outside Georgia. In response, Carter began saying "My name is Jimmy Carter, and I'm running for president." Carter extensively campaigned in the primaries, and in the end received 39.19% of his party's primary votes.

James E. Connor was an American political aide who served as White House Cabinet Secretary and Staff Secretary to the President under Gerald Ford.

References

  1. "Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum". www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
  2. "Jerry Jones". Gerald R. Ford Foundation. 2013-05-30. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
  3. Times, John D. Morris Special to The New York (1973-12-29). "Federal Panel Bids White House End Hiring Role". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2020-05-26.
  4. Times, Anthony Ripley Special to The New York (1974-10-13). "Carton of Haig's Files Was Removed From White House but Was Returned Sealed". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2020-05-26.
  5. "Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum". www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
  6. "White House Staff, Cabinet & Administration". Gerald R. Ford Foundation. Retrieved 2020-05-26.