Clark Clifford

Clark Clifford
Official portrait, c. 1947
9th United States Secretary of Defense
In office March 1, 1968 – January 20, 1969
President	Lyndon B. Johnson
Deputy	Paul Nitze
Preceded by	Robert McNamara
Succeeded by	Melvin Laird
Chair of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board
In office April 23, 1963 – February 29, 1968
President	John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson
Preceded by	James Killian
Succeeded by	Maxwell D. Taylor
2nd White House Counsel
In office February 1, 1946 – January 31, 1950
President	Harry Truman
Preceded by	Samuel Rosenman
Succeeded by	Charles Murphy
Personal details
Born	Clark McAdams Clifford (1906-12-25)December 25, 1906 Fort Scott, Kansas, U.S.
Died	October 10, 1998(1998-10-10) (aged 91) Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.
Resting place	Arlington National Cemetery
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Margery Pepperell Kimball ​ ​ (m. 1931)​
Children	3
Education	Washington University (BA, LLB)
Military service
Branch/service	United States Navy
Years of service	1944–1946
Rank	Captain

Clark McAdams Clifford (December 25, 1906 – October 10, 1998) was an American lawyer who served as an important political adviser to Democratic presidents Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Jimmy Carter. His official government positions were White House Counsel (1946–1950), Chairman of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board (1963–1968), and Secretary of Defense (1968–1969);^[1] Clifford was also influential in his role as an unofficial, informal presidential adviser in various issues.^[2] A successful Washington, D.C., lawyer, he was known for his elite clientele, charming manners, and impeccable suits.^[2]

All four Democratic presidents of the Cold War era employed Clifford's services and relied on his counsel, marking him as one of the ultimate Washington insiders.^[3] Emblematic of Clifford's influence in postwar Democratic presidential administrations was that after Jimmy Carter won the 1976 presidential election, his transition team was adamant that Clifford, as a symbol of the Washington, D.C., establishment, should not have any influence whatsoever, declaring that "if you ever see us relying on Clark Clifford, you'll know we have failed", yet Carter eventually came to rely on him nonetheless.^[3]

In his later years, Clifford became involved in several controversies. He was a key figure in the Bank of Credit and Commerce International scandal, which led to a grand jury indictment.