William Ruckelshaus

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I've had an awful lot of jobs in my lifetime, and in moving from one to another, have had the opportunity to think about what makes them worthwhile. I've concluded there are four important criteria: interest, excitement, challenge, and fulfillment. I've never worked anywhere where I could find all four to quite the same extent as at EPA. I can find interest, challenge, and excitement as [board chair of a company]. I do have an interesting job. But it is tough to find the same degree of fulfillment I found in the government. At EPA, you work for a cause that is beyond self-interest and larger than the goals people normally pursue. You're not there for the money, you're there for something beyond yourself. [26]

Subsequent career

1980s and 1990s

Ruckelshaus was at Perkins Coie, a Seattle-based law firm, from 1985 to 1988. [22] From 1983 to 1986, he served on the World Commission on Environment and Development set up by the United Nations. [19]

From 1988 to 1999, he served as chief executive officer of Browning-Ferris Industries of Houston, Texas, a major and expanding waste-removal firm. [5] During his tenure, Browning Ferris shifted from a focus on hazardous wastes to recycling. As the company expanded its operations into New York City, Ruckelshaus "helped investigators infiltrate a Mafia-dominated carting conspiracy, leading prosecutors to obtain indictments." [4]

After leaving Browning-Ferris, Ruckelshaus became a partner in the private investment firm, Madrona Venture Group. [5]

President Bill Clinton appointed Ruckelshaus as a member of the President's Council for Sustainable Development from 1993 to 1997, [5] and as U.S. special envoy in the implementation of the Pacific Salmon Treaty from 1997 to 1998. [5] [22] He was also appointed Chairman of the Salmon Recovery Funding Board for the state of Washington. [27]

2000s and 2010s

Ruckelshaus speaks in 2010 at an EPA event celebrating the agency's 40th anniversary. 40th Anniversary Speakers Series, William Ruckelshaus.jpg
Ruckelshaus speaks in 2010 at an EPA event celebrating the agency's 40th anniversary.

Ruckelshaus was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve on the United States Commission on Ocean Policy, [4] which submitted its Final Report to the President and Congress, An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century, in 2004. [28]

In June 2010, Ruckelshaus became co-chair of the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative. [29]

Ruckelshaus served as a director on boards of several corporations, including Isilon Systems, Monsanto, Cummins, Pharmacia, Solutia, Coinstar, Nordstrom, Pfizer, and Weyerhaeuser. [30]

He was Chair of the Advisory Board of The William D. Ruckelshaus Center [31] at the University of Washington and Washington State University, Chair Emeritus of the University of Wyoming's Ruckelshaus Institute for Environment and Natural Resources, Chairman Emeritus of the World Resources Institute, [32] and Chair of the Meridian Institute. He was a director of the Initiative for Global Development. [33]

In 2008, Ruckelshaus endorsed Barack Obama in the 2008 election for President of the United States. [34] In August 2016, Ruckelshaus and another former Republican-appointed EPA administrator, William K. Reilly, jointly endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in the 2016 election. [35]

In 2008, Ruckelshaus was appointed to the Washington State Puget Sound Partnership, an agency devoted to cleaning up Puget Sound. [36] In early 2012, Ruckelshaus was appointed co-chair of the Washington Blue Ribbon Panel on ocean acidification. [37]

In August 2018, Ruckelshaus drew parallels to the actions of President Donald Trump's administration relating to special prosecutor Robert Mueller and Ruckelshaus's own experiences during the Massacre and with President Nixon's "disrespect for the rule of law" in an opinion-editorial in The Washington Post . [20]

He died 5 months before 2 other Acting FBI Directors, James B. Adams and John E. Otto, and 6.5 months before FBI Director, William S. Sessions.

Presidential Medal of Freedom

In November 2015, Ruckelshaus was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama during a ceremony at the White House. [38] [39]

Death

Ruckelshaus died at his home in Medina, Washington, on November 27, 2019, at age 87. [4] [40]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Indiana Political History Database: State Representatives from Marion County". Capitol & Washington. March 3, 2015.
  2. ↑ Andrews, Evan. "What Was the Saturday Night Massacre?". HISTORY. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  3. ↑ The International Who's Who, 1997-98. Vol. 61. Europa Publications. 1997. ISBN   9781857430226.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 McFadden, Robert D. (November 27, 2019). "William Ruckelshaus, who quit in 'Saturday Night Massacre,' dies at 87". The New York Times . Archived from the original on December 3, 2019. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Oster, Patrick (November 27, 2019). "William Ruckelshaus, Nixon nemesis who headed EPA, dies at 87". Bloomberg News . Archived from the original on November 27, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Smith, Timothy R. (November 27, 2019). "William D. Ruckelshaus, who refused to join in Nixon's 'Saturday Night Massacre,' dies at 87". The Washington Post . Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  7. ↑ "Ex-EPA chief Ruckelshaus, who quit in Watergate’s ‘Saturday Night Massacre,’ dies at 87", AP via Los Angeles Times , November 27, 2019. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  8. ↑ Ruckelhaus, William Doyle. Princeton University. Department of Politics (ed.). "American Attitudes toward the Spanish Civil War".{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  9. ↑ "Ruckelshaus, William Doyle (b. 1932)". HistoryLink.org. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  10. ↑ Indiana Legislator Database-John C. Ruckelshaus
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "William D. Ruckelshaus: Oral History Interview", January 1993. Section, "Biography". Environmental Protection Agency. archive.epa.gov. Retrieved March 19, 2017. See also: "Biography". Archived from the original on September 9, 2009.
  12. 1 2 Indiana Legislator Database-William Ruckelshaus
  13. ↑ Guthrie, Benjamin J.; Jennings, W. Pat (July 1, 1969). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 5, 1968" (PDF). House.gov . Archived from the original (PDF) on January 19, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  14. ↑ "U.S. Senate election results (Indiana, 1968)". Our Campaigns. February 5, 2005. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  15. ↑ "William Ruckelshaus '51 Receives Presidential Medal of Freedom". Portsmouth Abbey School . January 25, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Early Implementation of the Clean Air Act of 1970 in California." EPA Alumni Association. Video, Transcript (see pp. 2,3). July 12, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Press Conference Attorney General John Mitchell 12-18-1970" (PDF).
  18. ↑ "Early Implementation of the Clean Air Act of 1970 in California." EPA Alumni Association. Video, Transcript. July 12, 2016.
  19. 1 2 Roseth, Bob (January 18, 2012). "New oral history of William Ruckelshaus, key figure in environmental policy, now online". University of Washington . Archived from the original on October 12, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  20. 1 2 Ruckelshaus, William D., "Only one other president has ever acted this desperate", Washington Post, August 6, 2018. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  21. ↑ "Biography of William D. Ruckelshaus". EPA.gov . 2016. Archived from the original on December 4, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  22. 1 2 3 4 Biography of William D. Ruckelshaus: First Term, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2016).
  23. ↑ Mieczkowski, Yanek (April 22, 2005). Gerald Ford and the Challenges of the 1970s. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 320–323. ISBN   0813172055.
  24. ↑ Sullivan, Patricia (July 22, 2004). "Anne Gorsuch Burford, 62, Dies; Reagan EPA Director". The Washington Post . Retrieved July 31, 2008.
  25. 1 2 Adragna, Anthony; Colman, Zack (November 27, 2019). "William Ruckelshaus, first EPA chief, dies at 87". Politico . Archived from the original on December 4, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  26. 1 2 "William D. Ruckelshaus: Oral History Interview", January 1993. Section, "Reflections on Being Administrator". Environmental Protection Agency. archive.epa.gov. Retrieved March 19, 2017. See also: "Reflections on Being Administrator". Archived from the original on October 2, 2006.
  27. ↑ Governor Gregoire Appoints Leaders to Protect and Restore Puget Sound (press release), Governor Chris Gregoire, June 27, 2007.
  28. ↑ An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century: Final Report of the United States Commission on Ocean Policy, United States Commission on Ocean Policy (2004).
  29. ↑ "Joint Initiative leadership council members congratulate co-chair Bill Ruckelshaus on receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom". Joint Ocean Commission Initiative . November 24, 2015. Archived from the original on December 4, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  30. ↑ "William Ruckelshaus". The William D. Ruckelshaus Center, Washington State University. Archived from the original on February 18, 2013. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  31. ↑ "The William D. Ruckelshaus Center - Washington State University".
  32. ↑ World Resources Institute Biosketch of William D. Ruckelshaus. Accessed March 27, 2012.
  33. ↑ "Leadership Council | Initiative for Global Development". Archived from the original on January 6, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
  34. ↑ Chris McGann, Republican Ruckelshaus backs Obama: Watergate hero announces his support, Seattle Post-Intelligencer (September 3, 2008).
  35. ↑ Wagner, John (August 9, 2016). "Two former Republican EPA administrators throw support to Clinton". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  36. ↑ "Puget Sound Partnership". Psp.wa.gov. September 1, 2008. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  37. ↑ "Washington Blue Ribbon Panel on Ocean Acidification". ecy.wa.gov. Archived from the original on July 29, 2014. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
  38. ↑ "President Obama Names Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom". whitehouse.gov . November 16, 2015. Retrieved November 16, 2015– via National Archives.
  39. ↑ Phil Helsel – "Obama honoring Spielberg, Streisand and more with medal of freedom," NBC News, November 24, 2015. Retrieved November 25, 2015
  40. ↑ Smith, Timothy R. (November 27, 2019). "William D. Ruckelshaus, who refused to join in Nixon's 'Saturday Night Massacre,' dies at 87". The Washington Post . Retrieved November 27, 2019.
Bill Ruckelshaus
William Ruckelshaus.jpg
1st and 5th Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
In office
May 15, 1983 –February 7, 1985
Party political offices
Preceded by Republican nominee for
U.S. Senator from Indiana (Class 3)
1968 		Succeeded by
Legal offices
Preceded by United States Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division
January 20, 1969 – December 4, 1970		Succeeded by
Preceded by United States Deputy Attorney General
July 9, 1973 – October 20, 1973		Succeeded by
Political offices
New office Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
December 4, 1970 – April 30, 1973		Succeeded by
Preceded by Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
May 15, 1983 – February 7, 1985		Succeeded by
Government offices
Preceded by
Pat Gray
Acting
 Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Acting
April 30, 1973 – July 9, 1973		Succeeded by
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