Under Presidents, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, American business businessman, and politician Robert Strange McNamara held the position of ninth Secretary of Defense. He is renowned for being a key player in initiating US involvement in the Vietnam War. Before beginning his career as a business executive, McNamara served in the US Army Air Forces during World War II. Later, he and other Air Force veterans were employed by Henry Ford II to work for Ford Motor Company. He also briefly held the position of President of Ford before being named Secretary of Defense. After becoming dubious about the value of sending American troops to Vietnam, McNamara eventually gave up his position as secretary of defense and was appointed president of the World Bank. He is renowned for being the Secretary of Defense with the longest tenure, having served for more than seven years. Later, when he was the President of the World Bank, he changed the emphasis of the bank to the fight against poverty. Following his retirement, he held trustee positions with a number of institutions, including the California Institute of Technology. At the age of 93, he died away peacefully in his bed at home.
Early Childhood & Life
On June 9th, 1916, in San Francisco, California, Robert McNamara was born. He was the offspring of wholesale shoe firm sales manager Robert James McNamara. Clara Neil McNamara was the name of his mother.
In 1933, he received his diploma from Piedmont High School, where he attended classes. Later, he continued his education at the University of California, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics in 1937 along with minors in philosophy and mathematics. He later graduated from Harvard Business School with an MBA.
Earlier Years of Robert McNamara
For one year, Robert McNamara was employed by Price Waterhouse. He subsequently went back to Harvard to teach accounting as an assistant professor. The youngest and highest-paid assistant professor in his field at the time was him.
He made the decision to leave school and join his country in the war during World War II. In 1943, he enlisted in the US Army Air Corps. He utilized the Office of Statistical Control to put his keen analytical abilities to use.
Motor Company Ford
Robert McNamara had worked with colonel Charles Thornton, who organized a group of ten officers to start a firm in 1946. At this time, a publication reported that Ford Motor Company required a significant overhaul. Henry Ford II hired the entire team, including McNamara, after being impressed by the group Thornton had put together.
The group, known as the “Whiz Kids,” used cutting-edge planning, rigid organization, and rigorous management control systems to help the company—which was experiencing a financial crisis—reform its administration.
McNamara gradually moved up the management ladder from his first position as the planning and financial analysis manager. He became the first non-family member to serve as president of Ford Motor Company.
Defense Secretary: Robert McNamara
Robert A. Lovett was initially given the position of Secretary of Defense by John F. Kennedy after he won the 1960 presidential race. But Lovett turned down the offer and suggested McNamara in its place.
In January 1961, McNamara assumed the position formally. Kennedy wished for him to revamp the nation’s defense strategy. The nation’s Planning, Programming, and Budgeting System (PPBS) was created with the assistance of McNamara. He underlined the necessity for conventional personnel, military equipment, and upgraded weaponry.
Kennedy soon grew to see McNamara as one of his most dependable men and the leader of his team. He became one of the select few Kennedy administration officials to collaborate and interact with the president.
Additionally, he was a key player in the Cuban Missile Crisis and a member of EXCOMM, the group of US government representatives that worked to diffuse the situation.
He was successful in taking over the Pentagon’s operations and the military’s administrative structure, and he persisted in promoting the armed services’ modernisation. Additionally, he changed the way that the budget was handled and reduced expenses by declining to pay for weapons systems that he believed were superfluous.
Veterans War: Robert McNamara
Robert McNamara favored increased US engagement in the Vietnam War during the Johnson administration following the Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964, in which US ships were attacked by North Vietnamese ships. US President Johnson responded by ordering airstrikes against the North Vietnamese naval sites in retaliation.
The violent communist administration known as the Viet Cong, which was in opposition to the South Vietnamese government supported by the US, immediately started using force. In response, the US bombed heavily in the north and sent as many as 500,000 troops to the south.
Since he was one of the key wartime strategists, McNamara came under fire from the peace movement. Some people also objected to the Vietnam-related material he presented.
Even McNamara began to question if sending additional troops would be sufficient for the US to defeat the communists. He visited Vietnam on numerous occasions to better grasp the situation, therefore he was hesitant to commit more soldiers as asked. Years later, he claimed that his allegiance to the administration was the reason for his backing of the war.
In 1967, he requested an investigation into US military activity in the Indochina Peninsula. However, the highly confidential final report was leaked to the media and finally made public as “The Pentagon Papers.” It revealed a lot of information regarding how deeply the US was involved in the Vietnam War.
The documents also showed that in 1964, President Johnson ordered US forces to engage in covert operations against North Vietnamese forces. After growing weary of the Vietnam War, McNamara ultimately made the decision to resign as secretary of defense.
Several further sources claim that McNamara left because the president personally urged him to do so. On February 29, 1968, McNamara resigned from his position. After leaving office, he wrote “The Essence of Security,” in which he included both his views on fundamental national security issues and many aspects of his term.
Global Bank: Robert McNamara
In April 1968, Robert McNamara was elected president of the World Bank. He served in that capacity until June 1981, when he was 65 years old. He rose to fame during his tenure as president for bringing about a number of significant improvements. He took part in a lot of initiatives to fight poverty. Additionally, he was in charge of the bank’s increased lending capacity. Currently, McNamara’s name is attached to a scholarship program run by the World Bank.
Awards The University of California honored McNamara “Alumnus of the Year” in 1961.
He was awarded the “Medal of Freedom” and the “Distinguished Service Medal” in 1968 for his contributions to his country.
Individual Life of Robert McNamara
Robert McNamara wed Margaret Craig, his high school sweetheart, on August 13, 1940. She had been a teacher before becoming a skilled cook. A boy named Robert Craig McNamara and two girls named Kathleen McNamara and Margaret Elizabeth Pastor were born to them. His dearly loved wife went away from cancer in 1981.
In September 2004, he wed Diana Masieri Byfield, a widow.
The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara, a movie based on the life of Robert McNamara, was released in 2003. Errol Morris was the director of this. It received the Best Documentary Feature Oscar.
On July 6, 2009, McNamara died away peacefully at home in Washington, D.C. In Arlington, Virginia’s Arlington National Cemetery, he was laid to rest.
Robert McNamara’s Net Worth
One of the wealthiest and most well-liked politicians is Robert McNamara. Our research of Robert McNamara’s net worth from Forbes, Wikipedia, and Business Insider revealed a $5 million figure.