Les Aspin

Diagnoses

Vocation

Lifestyle

Traits

Family

American politician, the former Secretary of Defense, appointed by President Bill Clinton to steer the Pentagon into the uncharted waters of the post-cold war era, but who resigned under pressure. Coming out of Yale, Oxford and MIT, Aspin was fascinated by government from the start, entering the political world of Washington DC in 1960 to work on the staff of Sen. William Proxmire. He later served on the staff of President John F. Kennedy's Council of Economic Advisors. In 1966, Aspin was one of Robert McNamara's whiz kids, bright and academic, knowledgeable but untried, an economist on the staff. Overweight and disheveled, his disorganized personality and inquisitive mind seemed fitted for the systemic disorder of the Vietnam war, a chaos of fact and fiction. In 1970 he ran for Congress, winning for the next 11 elections, a Wisconsin Congressman for 22 years. Aspin was Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee in 1985, a post in which he was serving when Clinton made his nomination in 1992. Aspin had a long history of heart problems. In March 1993 he had a pacemaker installed to prevent further weakening. A noted workaholic, he was famous for 14-hour days and seven-day weeks. He was a jocular man with a wry sense of humor, habitually late and always engaging. His existing heart problems, political pressure and a series of public relations glitches forced his resignation in December 1993. Caught in the cross-fire of Clinton policies, he was pressured to make deep cuts in the military budget. An uproar of bad press accompanied his extended bus trip that turned into a vacation with his girl friend that cost the tax-payers $42,000. After his resignation, he became head of Clinton's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. Aspin was married, and divorced in 1979, no kids. He had a longtime girlfriend, Sharon Sarton. He was admitted to Georgetown Medical Center in Washington, DC on 5/20/1995, 7:55 AM after suffering a massive stroke. He was lucid, but his condition deteriorated rapidly, and he died the following night, 7:55 PM. Link to Wikipedia biography