William J. Baroody Jr.
| William Baroody | |
|---|---|
| Director of the Office of Public Liaison | |
|
In office March 10, 1973 – January 20, 1977 |
|
| President |
Richard Nixon Gerald Ford |
| Preceded by | Chuck Colson |
| Succeeded by | Midge Costanza |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
November 5, 1937 Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S. |
| Died | June 8, 1996 (aged 58) Alexandria, Virginia, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | College of the Holy Cross (BA) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 United States
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Navy
|
William J. Baroody Jr. (November 5, 1937 – June 8, 1996) was an American government official best known for running the White House Office of Public Liaison under President Gerald Ford and, later, the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). His leadership of the think tank saw AEI enjoy new levels of political influence but was cut short by financial problems.
Baroody joined the staffs of U.S. Representative Melvin Laird and of the House Appropriations Committee in 1961, and later served as an aide to Laird at the Pentagon from 1969 to 1973.
In 1973 Baroody moved over to the White House to take over for the recently resigned Charles Colson. He worked hard to dispel his office's reputation as the "office of dirty tricks" that had developed under Colson. He consolidated the varied interest group efforts of the Nixon administration into a single office, which incoming President Gerald R. Ford titled the Office of Public Liaison.
Baroody changed the tactics of the administration from strong-arming legislators to one of persuasion. "Under Baroody’s direction, the office incorporated outreach efforts with consumers and women that had been located elsewhere in the White House, and the overall staff grew to approximately thirty. At the core of its activities was an aggressive campaign of regional conferences that enabled the nation's first unelected president to tour the country in a campaign-like atmosphere and prepare the way for an eventual reelection campaign. In Washington, D.C., Baroody also coordinated an extensive series of White House briefings for group and association leaders on a variety of policy topics that brought together group leaders and administration policy-makers. "
Baroody's father, William J. Baroody Sr., had been president of the influential, right-leaning think tank since 1962. The younger Baroody became executive vice president of the institute in 1977 and president in 1978. The elder Baroody died in 1980.
...
Wikipedia