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LAIRD, Melvin Robert (1922-2016)

Republican of Wisconsin

7th congressional district

Served in House 1953-1971

Total roll-call votes cast: 1,837

Biography

Representative from Wisconsin; born in Omaha, Douglas County, Nebr., September 1, 1922; attended the public schools; B.A., Carleton College, Northfield, Minn., 1944; United States Navy, 1942-1946, Pacific Theater; awarded the Purple Heart; member, Wisconsin state senate, 1946-1952; delegate to the Republican National Conventions, 1948, 1952, 1956, and 1960; elected as a Republican to the Eighty-third and to the eight succeeding Congresses until his resignation on January 21, 1969 (January 3, 1953-January 21, 1969); Secretary of Defense in the Cabinet of President Richard M. Nixon, 1969-1973; domestic adviser to President Richard M. Nixon, 1973-1974; awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Richard M. Nixon, 1974; senior counselor for national and international affairs, Reader’s Digest Association; died on November 16, 2016, in Fort Myers, Fla.; interment at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va.
Courtesy of Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

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