Robert McNamara was named Secretary of Defense in 1961, shortly after he had accepted the prestigious post of President of the Ford Motor Company. McNamara built on his reputation as a financial and managerial expert, and went on to become a top national security and foreign policy advisor to both Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. In his own words, McNamara described his goal as Secretary of Defense, “to bring efficiency to a $40 billion enterprise beset by jealousies and political pressures while maintaining American military superiority.” Mr. McNamara spent his first few years in the Defense Department attempting to reverse the reliance on nuclear deterrence that had been established during the Eisenhower administration. He advocated the development of a broader choice of deterrent forces. In later years, as attention shifted to Vietnam, McNamara found himself in the center of a quagmire that he had helped to create. In 1968, he resigned as a result of dissatisfaction with the deteriorating situation in Vietnam and became President of the World Bank, a position he held until 1981. He has since become an outspoken advocate for controlling the spread of nuclear weapons.
1916 Born, San Francisco, CA
1937 B.A., University of California, Berkeley
1939 M.B.A., Harvard University
1940 Assistant Professor of Business Administration, Harvard University
1943 Army Air Forces, England
1946 Manager, Ford Motor Company planning and financial offices
1949 Comptroller, Ford Motor Company
1953 Assistant General Manager, Ford Motor Company
1957 Vice President in charge of car and truck divisions, Ford Motor Company
1960 President, Ford Motor Company
1961-1968 Secretary of Defense, Kennedy Administration
1968-1981 President, World Bank
Author
The Essence of Security: Reflections in Office, 1968
One Hundred Countries, Two Billion People: The Dimensions of Development, 1973
The McNamara Years at the World Bank: Major Policy Addresses of Robert McNamara, 1968-1981, 1981
In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam, 1995
Source
"Robert S. McNamara." Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed. 17 Vols. Gale Research, 1998.
Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: The Gale Group, 2003.