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Donald Rumsfeld, former US defense secretary who oversaw the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, has passed away at age 88.
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Donald Rumsfeld, two-time United States secretary of defense under presidents Gerald Ford and Geroge W. Bush passed away at his home in New Mexico today surrounded by family, aged 88.
Rumsfeld oversaw the defence portfolio at a tumultuous period in US history, helping coordinate the US military invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks and widespread accusations of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.
The Rumsfeld family released a statement expressing their “deep sadness” over Rumsfeld’s passing.
“It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the passing of Donald Rumsfeld, an American statesman and devoted husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather.”
“At 88, he was surrounded by family in his beloved Taos, New Mexico,” the statement said.
Rumsfeld was first appointed to the post of secretary of defense in 1975 under president Gerald Ford, where he oversaw a widespread modernisation of the US military. Throughout his tenure, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
He was later reappointed to the position under president George W. Bush.
Robert McNamara, who held the post of secretary of defense during the Vietnam War, is the only person to have served in the position longer than Rumsfeld.
The US withdrew from Iraq in 2011 and is expected to withdraw from Afghanistan by 11 September 2021.
