J. William Middendorf
| J. William Middendorf II | |
|---|---|
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Middendorf in 1969
|
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| United States Secretary of the Navy | |
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In office April 8, 1974 – January 20, 1977 |
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| Preceded by | John Warner |
| Succeeded by | W. Graham Claytor, Jr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
September 22, 1924 Baltimore, Maryland |
| Political party | Republican |
| Alma mater |
College of the Holy Cross Harvard College New York University |
| Occupation | diplomat |
| Military service | |
| Service/branch |
 United States Navy
|
| Battles/wars | World War II |
John William Middendorf II (born September 22, 1924) is a former Republican United States diplomat and Secretary of the Navy.
John William Middendorf II received a Bachelor of Naval Science degree from College of the Holy Cross in 1945. In World War II he served in the Navy (1944-1946) as engineer officer and navigator aboard USS LCS(L) 53 in 1945. He was discharged from the Navy in 1946.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard College in 1947, where he was a member of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals and the Owl Club. He also graduated from New York University's Graduate School of Business Administration, receiving an M.B.A. in 1954.
He became an investment banker and in 1963 in partnership with Austen Colgate formed his own company, Middendorf, Colgate and Company (with a seat on the ).
An early member of Barry Goldwater's presidential campaign, he served as treasurer of that campaign, and continued to have the same duties with the Republican National Committee from 1965–1969.
Shortly after taking office in 1969, President Richard Nixon appointed Middendorf as United States Ambassador to the Netherlands. Middendorf served in this position from July 1969 until June 1973.
After returning to the U.S., he became Under Secretary of the Navy; not long after, Secretary John Warner moved on to become head of the Bicentennial Commission, and Middendorf was told he could expect promotion to Secretary. However, when his nomination seemed to be stalled, he discovered that Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger had a candidate of his own (information that Schlesinger had not shared with Middendorf). Whereupon, Middendorf paid a personal call on many of the senators he had worked with while he was Treasurer of the Republican Party—and soon enough he had been nominated and confirmed as Secretary of the Navy, serving until the end of the Administration of President Gerald Ford. As he would later write, "Life is relationships. Politics is compromise."
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