Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld Dies at 88

Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld Dies at 88

Former United States Secretary of Defense died at 88, his family said on Wednesday. 

Rumsfeld served from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and again from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush, where he led the Department on 9/11 and at the start of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. 

Rumsfeld was a three-term U.S. Congressman from Illinois, director of the Office of Economic Opportunity, counselor to the president, the United States Permanent Representative to NATO, White House Chief of Staff. 

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Between his terms as Secretary of Defense, he served as the CEO and chairman of several companies.

He served as chief executive officer, president, and then chairman of G. D. Searle & Company, a worldwide pharmaceutical company based in Skokie, Illinois -- which was later sold to Monsanto -- and then as chairman and chief executive officer of General Instrument Corporation, and then chairman of Gilead Sciences, Inc., the developer of Tamiflu.

“It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the passing of Donald Rumsfeld, an American statesman and devoted husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather," his family said in a statement, according to Axios.

"History may remember him for his extraordinary accomplishments over six decades of public service, but for those who knew him best and whose lives were forever changed as a result, we will remember his unwavering love for his wife Joyce, his family and friends, and the integrity he brought to a life dedicated to country,” they continued.