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<mask> (born September 8, 1950) is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general who served as the 26th US secretary of defense from January 2017 to January 2019. During his 44 years in the Marine Corps, he commanded forces in the Persian Gulf War, the War in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War. <mask> was commissioned in the Marine Corps through the Naval Reserve Officers' Training Corps after graduating from Central Washington University. A career Marine, he gained a reputation among his peers for "intellectualism" and eventually advanced to the rank of general. From 2007 to 2010, he commanded the United States Joint Forces Command and concurrently served as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Transformation. He was commander of United States Central Command from 2010 to 2013, with Admiral Bob Harward serving as his deputy commander. After retiring from the military, he served in several private sector roles, including as a board member of Theranos.<mask> was nominated as secretary of defense by president-elect Donald Trump, and confirmed by the Senate on January 20, 2017. As secretary of defense, <mask> affirmed the United States' commitment to defending longtime ally South Korea in the wake of the 2017 North Korea crisis. An opponent of proposed collaboration with China and Russia, <mask> stressed what he saw as their "threat to the American-led world order". <mask> occasionally voiced his disagreement with certain Trump administration policies such as the withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, withdrawals of troops from Syria and Afghanistan, and budget cuts hampering the ability to monitor the impacts of climate change. <mask> also dissuaded Trump from attempting to assassinate Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria. On December 20, 2018, after failing to convince Trump to reconsider his decision to withdraw all American troops from Syria, <mask> announced his resignation effective the end of February 2019, but after <mask>'s resignation generated significant media coverage, Trump abruptly accelerated <mask>' departure date to January 1, 2019, stating that he had essentially fired <mask>. Early life
<mask> was born on September 8, 1950, in Pullman, Washington.He is the son of Lucille (Proulx<mask> (1922–2019) and John West <mask> (1915–1988), a merchant mariner. His mother immigrated to the United States from Canada as an infant and had worked in Army Intelligence in South Africa during the Second World War. <mask>'s father moved to Richland, Washington, to work at a plant supplying fissile material to the Manhattan Project. <mask> was raised in a bookish household that did not own a television. He says he would hitchhike in his early teenage years until the time he enlisted in the Marine Corps. He graduated from Richland High School in 1968. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in history from Central Washington University in 1971 and a Master of Arts in international security affairs from the National War College of National Defense University in 1994.Marine career

<mask> enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve in 1969. He was commissioned a second lieutenant through the Naval Reserve Officers' Training Corps on January 1, 1972. During his service years, <mask> was considered an "intellectual" among the upper ranks. Robert H. Scales, a retired United States Army major general, called him "one of the most urbane and polished men I have known." As a lieutenant, <mask> was assigned as a rifle and weapons platoon commander in the 3rd Marine Division. As a captain, he was assigned as the Naval Academy Preparatory School's Battalion Officer, commanded rifle and weapons companies in the 1st Marine Regiment, then served at Recruiting Station Portland, Oregon, as a major. Upon promotion to the rank of lieutenant colonel, <mask> commanded 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, one of Task Force Ripper's assault battalions during the Gulf War.As a colonel, Mattis commanded the 7th Marine Regiment from June 28, 1994, to June 14, 1996. <mask> is a graduate of the US Marine Corps Amphibious Warfare School, US Marine Corps Command and Staff College, and the National War College. He is noted for his interest in the study of military history and world history, with a personal library that once included over 7,000 volumes, and a penchant for publishing required reading lists for Marines under his command. He required his Marines to be well-read in the culture and history of regions where they were deployed, and had his Marines deploying to Iraq undergo "cultural sensitivity training". According to an article published in 2004 by the Los Angeles Times it was his concern for the enlisted ranks along with his energy and enthusiasm that garnered him the nickname "Mad Dog". But in 2016, when President-elect Trump asked <mask> if his nickname was indeed "Mad Dog," <mask> replied, "No, sir," saying that his actual nickname was "Chaos." War in Afghanistan

<mask> led the 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade as its commanding officer upon promotion to brigadier general.It was as a regimental commander that he earned his nickname and call sign, "CHAOS", an acronym for "Colonel Has Another Outstanding Suggestion", which was initially somewhat tongue-in-cheek. During the initial planning for the War in Afghanistan, <mask> led Task Force 58 in operations in the southern part of the country beginning in November 2001, becoming the first Marine Corps officer to command a Naval Task Force in combat. According to <mask>, his objective upon arriving in Afghanistan was "make sure that the enemy didn't feel like they had any safe haven, to destroy their sense of security in southern Afghanistan, to isolate Kandahar from its lines of communication, and to move against Kandahar." In December 2001, an airstrike carried out by a B-52 bomber inadvertently targeted a position held by US special operations troops and Afghan militiamen in Uruzgan Province. Numerous men were wounded in the incident, but <mask> repeatedly refused to dispatch helicopters from the nearby Camp Rhino to recover them, citing operational safety concerns. Instead, an Air Force helicopter flew from Uzbekistan to ferry the men to the Marine Corps base where helicopters sat readily available but unauthorized to fly. Captain Jason Amerine blamed the delay caused by <mask>'s refusal to order a rescue operation for the deaths of several men.Amerine wrote, "Every element in Afghanistan tried to help us except the closest friendly unit, commanded by Mattis," though he also wrote that "none of that was assessed properly because the [5th Special Forces Group] chose not to call for a formal investigation". This episode was used against <mask> when he was nominated for defense secretary in 2016. Mattis describes being presented with the location of Osama bin Laden in December 2001 and creating a plan to kill him that was never executed. While serving in Afghanistan as a brigadier general, <mask> was known as an officer who engaged his men with "real leadership." A young Marine officer, Nathaniel Fick, said he witnessed Mattis in a fighting hole talking with a sergeant and lance corporal: "No one would have questioned Mattis if he'd slept eight hours each night in a private room, to be woken each morning by an aide who ironed his uniforms and heated his MREs. But there he was, in the middle of a freezing night, out on the lines with his Marines." Iraq War

As a major general, <mask> commanded the 1st Marine Division during the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the Iraq War.<mask> played key roles in combat operations in Fallujah, including negotiation with the insurgent command inside the city during Operation Vigilant Resolve in April 2004, as well as participation in planning of the subsequent Operation Phantom Fury in November. Wedding bombing
In May 2004, <mask> ordered the 3 a.m. bombing of what he alleged was a suspected enemy safe house near the Syrian border, but was in fact a wedding party and resulted in the deaths of 42 civilians, including 11 women and 14 children. <mask> said it had taken him 30 seconds to decide whether to bomb the location. Describing the wedding as implausible, he said, "How many people go to the middle of the desert to hold a wedding  from the nearest civilization? These were more than two dozen military-age males. Let's not be naive." The occurrence of a wedding was disputed by military officials, but the Associated Press obtained video footage showing a wedding party and a video the next day showed musical instruments and party decoration among the remains.When asked by the press about footage on Arabic television of a child's body being lowered into a grave, he replied: "I have not seen the pictures but bad things happen in wars. I don't have to apologize for the conduct of my men." Department of Defense survey
Following a Department of Defense survey that showed only 55% of US soldiers and 40% of Marines would report a colleague for abusing civilians, <mask> told Marines in May 2007 that "whenever you show anger or disgust toward civilians, it's a victory for al-Qaeda and other insurgents." Believing that a need for restraint in war as key to defeating an insurgency, he added: "every time you wave at an Iraqi civilian, al-Qaeda rolls over in its grave." 1st Marine Division's motto "no better friend, no worse enemy"
<mask> popularized the 1st Marine Division's motto "no better friend, no worse enemy", a paraphrase of the epitaph the Roman dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla wrote for himself, in his open letter to all men within the division for their return to Iraq. This phrase later became widely publicized during the investigation into the conduct of Lieutenant Ilario Pantano, a platoon commander serving under Mattis. Cultural sensitivity training
As his division prepared to ship out, <mask> called in "experts on the Middle East" for "cultural sensitivity training."He constantly toured the battlefield to tell stories of Marines who were able to show "discretion in moments of high pressure." As an apparent example, he encouraged his Marines to grow moustaches to look more like the people they were working with. Removal of senior leaders

He was also noted for a willingness to remove senior leaders under his command when the US military seemed unable or unwilling to relieve underperforming or incompetent officers. During the division's push to Baghdad, <mask> relieved Colonel Joe D. Dowdy, commander of Regimental Combat Team-1. It was such a rare occurrence in the modern military that it made the front page of newspapers. Despite this, <mask> declined to comment on the matter publicly other than to say that the practice of officer relief remains alive, or at least "we are doing it in the Marines." Later interviews of Dowdy's officers and men revealed that "the colonel was doomed partly by an age-old wartime tension: Men versus mission—in which he favored his men," while Mattis insisted on execution of the mission to seize Baghdad swiftly.Combat Development Command
After being promoted to lieutenant general, <mask> took command of Marine Corps Combat Development Command. On February 2005, speaking at a forum in San Diego, he said, "Actually it's quite fun to fight them, you know. It's a hell of a hoot. It's fun to shoot some people. I'll be right up there with you. I like brawling. You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil.You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." <mask>'s remarks sparked controversy; General Michael Hagee, commandant of the Marine Corps, issued a statement suggesting <mask> should have chosen his words more carefully but would not be disciplined. US Joint Forces Command

The Pentagon announced on May 31, 2006, that <mask> had been chosen to take command of the I Marine Expeditionary Force, based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. On September 11, 2007, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced that President George W. Bush had nominated <mask> for appointment to the rank of general to command US Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) in Norfolk, Virginia. NATO agreed to appoint <mask> as Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT). On September 28, 2007, the United States Senate confirmed <mask>'s nomination, and he relinquished command of the I MEF on November 5, 2007, to Lieutenant General Samuel Helland.<mask> was promoted to four-star general and took control of USJFCOM/SACT on November 9, 2007. On September 9, 2009, French Air Force General Stéphane Abrial Stéphane Abrial assumed the position of SACT. <mask> remained commander of JFCOM from November 2007 until September 2010. US Central Command

In early 2010, <mask> was reported to be on the list of generals being considered to replace James T. Conway as the commandant of the US Marine Corps. In July, he was recommended by Defense Secretary Robert Gates for nomination to replace David Petraeus as commander of United States Central Command (CENTCOM), and formally nominated by President Obama on July 21. <mask> took command at a ceremony at MacDill Air Force Base on August 11. As head of Central Command, Mattis oversaw the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and was responsible for a region that includes Syria, Iran, and Yemen.He lobbied the Obama administration for a more aggressive response to Iran, including more covert operations and disruption of Iranian arms shipments to Syria and Yemen. According to Leon Panetta, the Obama administration did not place much trust in <mask> because he was perceived as too eager for a military confrontation with Iran. Panetta later said, though, that some of the mistrust was unjustified, arising from the inexperience of some White House staff not understanding the need “to look at all of the options that a president should look at in order to make the right decisions.” Nevertheless, <mask>’s hawkishness was out of step with the White House’s perspective, and “ultimately, <mask>’s advocacy and aggressive style alienated the White House and the president he was serving.”

<mask> retired in March 2013, and the Defense Department nominated General Lloyd Austin to succeed him. Civilian career

After retiring from the military, <mask> worked for FWA Consultants and served as a member of the General Dynamics Board of Directors. Between 2013 and 2017, while on the board of General Dynamics, Mattis made more than $900,000 in compensation, including company stock. In August 2013, he was appointed an Annenberg Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution and in 2016 he was named the Davies Family Distinguished Visiting Fellow. In December 2015, <mask> joined the advisory board of Spirit of America, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides assistance to support the safety and success of American service personnel and the local people they seek to help.He is co-editor of the book Warriors & Citizens: American Views of Our Military, published in August 2016. From 2013 to January 2017, <mask> was a board member of Theranos, a health technology company that claimed to have devised revolutionary blood tests using very small amounts of blood, which was later determined to be a fraudulent claim by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Previously, in mid-2012, a Department of Defense official evaluating Theranos's blood-testing technology for the military initiated a formal inquiry with the Food and Drug Administration about the company's intent to distribute its tests without FDA clearance. In August 2012, Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes asked <mask>, who had expressed interest in testing Theranos's technology in combat areas, to help. Within hours, <mask> forwarded his email exchange with Holmes to military officials, asking "how do we overcome this new obstacle". In July 2013, the Department of Defense gave <mask> permission to join Theranos's board provided he did not represent Theranos with regard to the blood-testing device and its potential acquisition by the Departments of the Navy or Defense. In 2019, <mask>'s book Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead was published.It is an autobiography as well as an argument in favor of an internationalist foreign policy. On August 7, 2019, <mask> was re-elected to the board of General Dynamics. Secretary of Defense (2017–2019)

Nomination and confirmation

President-elect Donald Trump met with <mask> for a little over one hour in Bedminster, New Jersey, on November 20, 2016. He later wrote on Twitter, "General James 'Mad Dog' <mask>, who is being considered for secretary of defense, was very impressive yesterday. A true General's General!" On December 1, 2016, Trump announced at a rally in Cincinnati that he would nominate <mask> for secretary of defense. The nomination broke with U.S. military history since 1950, the only time a secretary of defense, George Marshall, received a waiver of the National Security Act of 1947 which requires a seven-year waiting period before retired military personnel can assume the role of secretary of defense.The waiver for <mask> passed 81–17 in the Senate and 268–151 in the House. <mask> was subsequently confirmed as secretary of defense by a vote of 98–1 in the United States Senate on January 20, 2017. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand was the sole "no" vote, stating that she was opposed to the waiver on principle. Tenure

In a January 2017 phone call with Saudi Arabia's deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, <mask> "reaffirmed the importance of the US–Saudi Arabia strategic relationship". For his first official trip abroad, <mask> began a two-day visit with longtime US ally South Korea on February 2, 2017. He warned North Korea that "any attack on the United States, or our allies, will be defeated", and any use of nuclear weapons would be met with an "effective and overwhelming" response from the United States. During a press conference in London on March 31, 2017, with the British secretary of state for defence, Michael Fallon, Mattis said North Korea was behaving "in a very reckless manner" and must be stopped.During a Pentagon news conference on May 26, <mask> reported the US was working with the UN, China, Japan, and South Korea to avoid "a military solution" with North Korea. On June 3, <mask> said the United States regarded North Korea as "clear and present danger" during a speech at the international security conference in Singapore. In a June 12 written statement to the House Armed

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 Services Committee <mask> said North Korea was the "most urgent and dangerous threat to peace and security". On June 15, <mask> said the US would win a war against North Korea, but "at great cost". On March 22, 2017, during questioning from the US Senate, <mask> affirmed his support for US troops remaining in Iraq after the Battle of Mosul was concluded. <mask> responded to critics who suggested the Trump administration had loosened the rules of engagement for the US military in Iraq after US-led coalition airstrikes in Mosul killed civilians, saying, "We go out of our way to always do everything humanly possible to reduce the loss of life or injury among innocent people." According to Airwars, the US-led coalition killed as many as 6,000 civilians in Iraq and Syria in 2017.On April 5, 2017, <mask> called the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack "a heinous act," and said it would be treated accordingly. On April 10, <mask> warned the Syrian government against using chemical weapons again. The following day, <mask> gave his first Pentagon news conference since becoming secretary of defense, saying ISIL's defeat remained "our priority," and the Syrian government would pay a "very, very stiff price" for further usage of chemical weapons. On April 21 <mask> said Syria still had chemical weapons and was in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions. According to investigative journalist Bob Woodward, Trump ordered <mask> to assassinate Assad, but <mask> refused. On May 8 <mask> told reporters details of the proposed Syrian safe zones were "all in process right now" and the United States was involved with configuring them. <mask> voiced support for a Saudi Arabian-led military campaign against Yemen's Shiite rebels.He asked Trump to remove restrictions on US military support for Saudi Arabia. On April 20, 2017, one week after the Nangarhar airstrike, <mask> told reporters that the US would not conduct a damage assessment "in terms of the number of people killed" in Afghanistan. <mask> traveled to Afghanistan days later and met with government officials, explaining that the purpose of the trip was to allow him to state his recommendations for US strategy in the country. On June 13, <mask> said US forces were "not winning" in Afghanistan and the administration would develop a new strategy by "mid-July" while speaking to the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services. On June 29, <mask> said the Obama administration "may have pulled our troops out too rapidly" and that he intended to submit a new Afghanistan strategy to Trump upon his return to Washington, D.C. The United States has been openly arming the Syrian Kurdish fighters in the war against ISIL since May 2017. Following the start of the Turkish invasion of northern Syria aimed at ousting US-backed Syrian Kurds from the enclave of Afrin, <mask> said in January 2018: "Turkey is a NATO ally.It's the only NATO country with an active insurgency inside its borders. And Turkey has legitimate security concerns." Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ urged the United States to halt its support for Kurdish YPG fighters, saying: "Those who support the terrorist organization will become a target in this battle." On April 13, 2018, <mask> briefed reporters in a press conference at the Pentagon on the 2018 missile strikes against Syria being carried out against the Assad regime's chemical weapon compounds, saying, "Tonight, France, the United Kingdom and the United States took decisive action to strike the Syrian chemical weapons infrastructure. Clearly the Assad regime did not get the message last year. This time our allies and we have struck harder. Together we have sent a clear message to Assad and his murderous lieutenants that they should not perpetrate another chemical weapons attack for which they will be held accountable".In November 2018, the CIA assessed with "high confidence" that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman ordered the assassination of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. Under mounting pressure from lawmakers who wanted action against Saudi Arabia, Mattis and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in a rare closed briefing of the Senate, disputed the CIA's conclusion and declared there was no direct evidence linking the crown prince to Khashoggi's assassination. Wherever Mattis traveled overseas, he brought the Defense Security Cooperation Agency director (the official in charge of weapon sales to foreign governments), according to Lt. Gen. Charles Hooper, speaking at the Brookings Institution in June 2019. Conflicts with Trump and resignation

<mask> had recommended General David L. Goldfein, Air Force Chief of Staff, to succeed retiring General Joseph Dunford as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in September 2018. Instead, Trump chose General Mark Milley, Army Chief of Staff, whom <mask> had recommended for the position of Supreme Allied Commander Europe. On December 19, 2018, Trump announced immediate US withdrawal from Syria, over his national security advisers' objections. <mask> had recently said that the US would remain in Syria after ISIL's defeat to ensure it did not regroup.The next day, he submitted his resignation after failing to persuade Trump to reconsider. His resignation letter contained language that appeared to criticize Trump's worldview—praising NATO, which Trump has often derided, and the 79-nation Defeat-ISIS coalition that Trump had decided to abandon. <mask> also affirmed the need for "treating allies with respect and also being clear-eyed about both malign actors and strategic competitors" and remaining "resolute and unambiguous" against authoritarian states such as China and Russia. He wrote that Trump has "the right to have a Secretary of Defense whose views are better aligned with [his] on these and other subjects." His resignation triggered alarm among historical allies. In his 2018 resignation letter, <mask> called both Russia and China "authoritarian models" rivaling US interests. <mask>'s letter said his resignation would be effective February 28, 2019.Three days later Trump moved <mask>'s departure date up to January 1, after becoming angered by the implicit criticism of Trump's worldview in <mask>'s letter. On January 2, 2019, Trump criticized <mask>'s performance as secretary of defense and said he had "essentially fired him." John F. Kelly, Trump's chief of staff when <mask> left his position, denied that Trump fired <mask> or asked for his resignation. He said Trump must be confused or mistaken, and that "<mask> is an honorable man." Post-tenure
After leaving the White House, <mask> initially declined to offer his opinion of the Trump administration, saying, "If you leave an administration, you owe some silence," and was guarded when asked to reflect on Trump or military matters, saying he didn't want to detract from the troops. He changed his position after becoming "angry and appalled" about the events leading up to the violent treatment of noncombative protesters near the White House on June 1, 2020, for the purpose of a photo op for Trump at the church across Lafayette Square. Trump responded by Twitter that evening that he "felt great" he had previously asked <mask> to resign, and he didn't like much about <mask> or his "leadership style" and was "Glad he is gone!"In 2019, <mask> joined The Cohen Group as senior counsel. Al Smith Dinner comments
At the October 17, 2019, Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, <mask>, the keynote speaker, responded to comments Trump had made about him, saying,
I'm not just an overrated general, I am the greatest, the world's most overrated... I'm honored to be considered that by Donald Trump, because he also called Meryl Streep an overrated actress. So I guess I'm the Meryl Streep of generals, and frankly, that sounds pretty good to me. And you do have to admit that between me and Meryl, at least we've had some victories. He continued, "I've earned my spurs on the battlefield... Donald Trump earned his spurs in a letter from a doctor." Political positions
<mask> claims he has "never registered for any political party".He also claims when he was 18 that he was "proudly apolitical". Israeli–Palestinian peace process
<mask> supports a two-state solution model for Israeli–Palestinian peace. He has said the situation in Israel is "unsustainable" and that Israeli settlements harm prospects for peace and could lead to an apartheid-like situation in the West Bank. In particular, he has said that the perception of biased American support for Israel has made it difficult for moderate Arabs to show support for the United States. <mask> strongly supported Secretary of State John Kerry on the Middle East peace process, praising Kerry for being "wisely focused like a laser beam" on a two-state solution. Iran and Middle Eastern allies

<mask> believes Iran is the principal threat to the stability of the Middle East, ahead of Al-Qaeda and ISIL. <mask> says: "I consider ISIS nothing more than an excuse for Iran to continue its mischief.Iran is not an enemy of ISIS. They have a lot to gain from the turmoil in the region that ISIS creates." <mask> sees the Iran nuclear deal as a poor agreement, but believes there is now no way to tear it up, saying: "We are just going to have to recognize that we have an imperfect arms control agreement. Second, that what we achieved is a nuclear pause, not a nuclear halt". <mask> argues that inspections may fail to prevent Iran from seeking to develop nuclear weapons, but that "[i]f nothing else at least we will have better-targeting data if it comes to a fight in the future." Additionally, he criticized Obama for being "naive" about Iranian intentions and Congress for being "pretty much absent" on the nuclear deal. <mask> praises the friendship of regional US allies such as Jordan, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates.He also criticized Trump for seeing allies as "free-loading", saying: "For a sitting US President to see our allies as freeloaders is nuts." He has cited the importance of the United Arab Emirates and Jordan as countries that wanted to help, for example, in filling in the gaps in Afghanistan. He criticized Obama's defense strategy as giving "the perception we're pulling back" from US allies. He stresses the need for the US to bolster its ties with allied intelligence agencies, particularly those of Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. In 2012, <mask> argued for providing weapons to Syrian rebels as a way to fight back against Iranian proxies in Syria. Japan
<mask> visited Japan one week after being sworn in as secretary of defense. During a meeting with Prime Minister Shinzō Abe, <mask> emphasized that the US remains committed to the mutual defense of Japan and stated, "I want there to be no misunderstanding during the transition in Washington that we stand firmly, 100 percent, shoulder to shoulder with you and the Japanese people."He also reassured Japan that the US would defend the disputed Senkaku Islands controlled by Japan but also claimed by China and Taiwan. Russia
Speaking at a conference sponsored by The Heritage Foundation in Washington in 2015, <mask> said he believed that Russian President Vladimir Putin's intent is "to break NATO apart." <mask> has also spoken out against what he perceives as Russia's expansionist or bellicose policies in Syria, Ukraine and the Baltic states. In 2017, <mask> said that the world order is "under biggest attacks since World War Two, from Russia, terrorist groups, and China's actions in the South China Sea." On February 16, 2017, <mask> said the United States was not currently prepared to collaborate with Russia on military matters, including future anti-ISIL US operations. In August 2017, he said: "Despite Russia's denials, we know they are seeking to redraw international borders by force, undermining the sovereign and free nations of Europe". China
Mattis called for freedom of navigation in the South China Sea and criticized China's island-building activities, saying: "The bottom line is[...] the international waters are international waters."Climate change

In 2017, <mask> said that budget cuts would hamper the ability to monitor the effects of global warming, and noted, "climate change is a challenge that requires a broader, whole-of-government response." He also told senators "climate change is impacting stability in areas of the world where our troops are operating today." 2020 George Floyd protests

On June 3, 2020, <mask> issued a statement to The Atlantic in which he criticized President Donald Trump and his policies during the George Floyd protests. He berated Trump for deliberately trying to cause division among the American people and advocating military action to "dominate" the country's protests. "Militarizing our response, as we witnessed in Washington, D.C., sets up a conflict—a false conflict—between the military and civilian society, and diminishes the trust and constitutional relationship between the armed services and the civilian population they support", he wrote. Mattis called for reunification among the people, regardless of the president, to preserve the welfare of society, and its future. <mask> wrote that Trump was "the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try.Instead, he tries to divide us". He added that America is "witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership". He called for accountability for "those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution." He concluded, "Only by adopting a new path—which means, in truth, returning to the original path of our founding ideals—will we again be a country admired and respected at home and abroad." Personal life
<mask> has never been married and has no children. He proposed to a woman, but she called off the wedding days before it was to occur, not wanting to burden his career. He is nicknamed "The Warrior Monk" because of his bachelorhood and lifelong devotion to the study of war.An avid reader, he has 7000 books in his private library, and has recommended Marcus Aurelius's Meditations as the one book every American should read. <mask> was inducted into the Sons of the American Revolution on July 13, 2021. <mask> is a Catholic, and has been described as "devout" and "committed." During the 2003 Iraq invasion, he often prayed with general John F. Kelly on Sundays. The Trump transition team's formal biography of <mask> described him as "the living embodiment of the Marine Corps motto, Semper Fidelis." He has declined when asked by reporters to discuss his faith in public. In a 2003 PBS interview, <mask> recalled how his Marines followed advice from his chaplain on gaining the support of Iraqi citizens:
On the suggestion of my Catholic chaplain the Marines would take chilled drinking water in bottles and walk out amongst the protesters and hand it out.It is just hard to throw a rock at somebody who has given you a cold drink of water and it's 120 degrees outside. Military awards
<mask>'s decorations, awards, and badges include, among others:

His citation for the Canadian Meritorious Service Cross reads as follows: "While occupying key leadership positions within the United States Armed Forces and NATO between 2001 and 2012, General <mask> directly and repeatedly contributed to the Canadian Forces’ operational success in Afghanistan. Providing unprecedented access and championing Canadian participation in critical policy and training events, he helped shape Canadian counter-insurgency doctrine. Demonstrating unequivocal support and unwavering commitment to Canada, General <mask> has significantly strengthened Canadian-American relations and has been a critical enabler in both countries’ shared achievements in Afghanistan." Civilian awards

Mattis's civilian awards include:

 2009: Center for National Policy's Edmund S. Muskie Distinguished Public Service Award
 2010: Atlantic Council's Distinguished Military Leadership Award
 2013: World Affairs Council of Greater Hampton Roads "Ryan C. Crocker Global Citizen of the Year" Award
 2014: Marine Corps University Foundation Semper Fidelis Award
 2014: Washington College honorary doctor of laws degree
 2016: Washington Policy Center Champion of Freedom Award recipient
2021: Elected as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

In popular culture
 <mask> is the primary subject of Guy Snodgrass's 2019 book Holding the Line: Inside Trump's Pentagon with Secretary <mask>. Robert John Burke portrays <mask> in the 2008 HBO miniseries Generation Kill, which depicts the 2003 invasion of Iraq. <mask> is also known for the Internet meme depicting him as "<mask> of Quantico, Patron Saint of Chaos".<mask> is commonly "reported on" by the military satire website Duffel Blog for potentially being fired, winning an "arms race" with Russia, and crossing the Potomac to launch a Roman-style coup d'état. <mask> is an avid reader and releases his reading lists. See also
 List of United States Marine Corps four-star generals

References

Works cited

 Reynolds, Nicholas E. (2005). Basrah, Baghdad and Beyond: The U.S. Marine Corps in the Second Iraq War. p. 5. Naval Institute Press. External links

 Quotes from <mask> on All Views by Quotes
 <mask> Sworn in As US Secretary of Defense
 Department of Defense biography
 Official Marine Corps biography

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1950 births
United States Marine Corps personnel of the Gulf War
United States Marine Corps personnel of the Iraq War
United States Marine Corps personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
American people of Canadian descent
Atlantic Council
Catholics from Washington (state)
Central Washington University alumni
Hoover Institution people
Living people
Military personnel from Washington (state)
National War College alumni
People from Pullman, Washington
People from Richland, Washington
Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal
Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal
Recipients of the Legion of Merit
Recipients of the NATO Meritorious Service Medal
Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal
Recipients of the Polish Army Medal
Theranos people
Trump administration cabinet members
United States Marine Corps generals
United States Marine Corps officers
United States Secretaries of Defense
Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States)
Recipients of the Humanitarian Service

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Brigadier <mask>  (25 September 1895 – 8 October 1967) was an officer of the British Army during both the First and Second World Wars. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment in 1914, during the Great War, and fought on the Western Front. In the Second World War he was commander of the 1st Airlanding Brigade, of the 1st Airborne Division. He commanded the brigade in the Mediterranean theatre during Operation Ladbroke, part of the Allied invasion of Sicily, in July 1943, as well as during the Battle of Arnhem, part of Operation Market Garden, in September 1944. After the Second World War he retired from the British Army and worked for the International Refugee Organization and the National Playing Fields Association before his death in 1967. Early life
<mask> was born on 25 September 1895 in Warwick, Warwickshire. The son of Dr <mask> and the writer Beatrice Whitby, he was educated at Winchester College in Hampshire.First World War
<mask> was a member of the Territorial Force army number 15075, and was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant into the 1/7th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, on 23 October 1914. The 1/7th Battalion was serving with the 1/5th, 1/6th and 1/8th battalions as part of the 143rd (1/1st Warwickshire) Brigade, part of the 48th (South Midland) Division, which took part in the battle of the Somme in 1916 and the third Battle of Ypres in 1917. <mask> was granted a regular army commission on 23 June 1916. <mask> was mentioned in despatches on 13 November 1916, while serving with the 7th Battalion. In May 1918, <mask> transferred to the 1st Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, which was part of the 10th Brigade of the 4th Division. While serving with the 4th Division he was awarded a Military Cross in 1918, during the Hundred Days Offensive in the final months of the war. The citation stated: "For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty during a daylight raid.He commanded his party in a most skilful manner, and was largely responsible for its success. About 50 of the enemy were killed, several of whom were shot by him with his revolver, and two prisoners taken. His conduct was splendid." On 8 November 1918 <mask> was again mentioned in despatches. Between the wars
<mask> remained in the Army after the First World War, and was promoted to captain in January 1922. He served in British India between November 1924 and January 1926. The following year, on 19 November 1927, he married Patty Fanshaw, the daughter of Brigadier Lionel Arthur Fanshawe.They had two children, a son and a daughter. In November 1924 <mask> became the aide de camp to the district commander at Karachi until January 1926. In March 1931, he returned to the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, joining the 2nd Battalion at Khartoum. His next appointment was as the Staff captain to the Guernsey and Alderney district between April 1933 and March 1936, when he was promoted to major. In January 1937 <mask> returned to the 2nd Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, which was now back in the United Kingdom and based at Tidworth Camp. He remained with the 2nd Battalion until January 1939, when he transferred again to the 1st Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, which was serving in Faizabad at the time. Second World War
At the start of the Second World War, <mask> was still a major, but was promoted to acting lieutenant-colonel in May 1940, commander of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, which, from February 1940 was serving in the 144th Brigade of the 48th (South Midland) Infantry Division.The battalion played a prominent part in the Battle of Dunkirk, part of the Battle of France, for which <mask> was awarded a Distinguished Service Order. In 1942, <mask> was given command of an airborne formation, the 1st Airlanding Brigade, part of the 1st Airborne Division, and in 1943 was promoted to brigadier. During Operation Ladbroke – part of the Allied invasion of Sicily – <mask>'s glider landed in the sea  offshore. <mask> and the other men on board decided to swim ashore. Once there he gathered a force together and prepared to attack a coastal artillery battery. For his actions in Sicily <mask> was awarded a second Distinguished Service Order. The citation stated: "Brigadier <mask> commanded and led the 1st Airlanding Brigade in its moonlight attack at Syracuse on the night 9–10 July 1943.His own glider landed in the sea. He and his party swam ashore and took part in the fighting against enemy coast defences. Throughout the entire operation Brigadier <mask> showed the highest qualities of leadership, courage and devotion to duty." During the Battle of Arnhem, part of Operation Market Garden, on the night of 17–18 September, the commander of the 1st Airborne Division, Major-General Roy Urquhart, was reported missing and Brigadier <mask> assumed command of the 1st Airborne Division during a crucial period. After the battle was over, Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery wrote in a letter to the Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS), Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke, that "There is no doubt <mask> did extremely well at Arnhem, but there is also no doubt that it has been too much for him and he is not now fit to fight again in battle in this war". Montgomery went on to recommend that <mask> be considered for command of an area in England or overseas. On 23 March 1945, he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).Later life
In May 1948 <mask> retired from the army and became a regional commissioner for the International Refugee Organization in Germany between 1948 and 1952. He followed this by being on the board of the National Playing Fields Association in London, between 1955 and 1961. <mask> died on 8 October 1967 at Hartley Wintney in Hampshire. Notes

External links
Generals of World War II

Tugwell, Maurice (1971). Airborne to Battle: A History of Airborne Warfare, 1918–1971. London, United Kingdom: Kimber. .

People educated at Winchester College
Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers officers
Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
British Army personnel of World War I
British Army brigadiers of World War II
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
People from Warwick
1895 births
1967 deaths
British Army brigadiers
Military personnel from Warwickshire

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Philip Hugh Whitby Hicks
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<mask>  (née <mask>) is an actress, producer, and author from Derry, Northern Ireland. She produced the mini-series The Bible for the History Channel and also starred in it as Mary, mother of Jesus. For nine seasons she played Monica, a tender-hearted angel supervised by Tess (played by Della Reese), on the CBS television series Touched by an Angel, for which she earned multiple Emmy and Golden Globe Best Actress nominations. She has performed on stage with the Abbey Theatre and has appeared both on and off Broadway. She played the leading role of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in the miniseries A Woman Named Jackie for NBC. <mask> starred in and was executive producer for a number of hit television movies for the CBS network. <mask> is an ambassador for Operation Smile.On 11 August 2016 <mask> was honored for her work as an actress and producer with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In her acceptance speech, she dedicated her star to the people of Derry and anyone who ever "walked Hollywood Boulevard with a dream in their hearts." In 2021, <mask> received the Lifetime Achievement Award for the International Christian Film & Music Festival. In 2021, <mask> received the Lifetime Achievement Award for the International Christian Film & Music Festival and was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to the Arts, Drama and to the Community in Northern Ireland. As President of Lightworkers Media, the family and faith division of MGM, <mask> and her husband, Mark Burnett, produced the Emmy-nominated miniseries The Bible for History channel, which was watched by over 100 million people in the United States. <mask> and Burnett also executive-produced the feature films Ben-Hur starring Jack Huston, Toby Kebbell and Morgan Freeman, Son of God (2014), Little Boy, Woodlawn, Resurrection, Messiah and Country Ever After which aired in 2021. Variety recognized <mask> and Burnett as "Trailblazers" and listed <mask> as one of Variety's "100 Most Powerful Women in Hollywood".The Hollywood Reporter included the couple in their "Most Influential People of 2013" and <mask> as one of the "100 Women in Entertainment Power" in 2014. She was honored on Variety's "Women of Impact in 2014". <mask> and Burnett also produced The Dovekeepers based on the best selling book by Alice Hoffman for CBS and A.D. The Bible Continues for NBC, Women of the Bible for Lifetime, Answered Prayers for TLC. <mask> is the executive producer of the documentary "Faithkeepers" about the persecution of Christians in the Middle East, and of the short film Rough which won the IFTA for best short film in 2021. Early life
<mask> was born and raised in Derry, Northern Ireland, in the Bogside district. <mask> is named after her two grandmothers, Ro from Rose and Ma from Mary, joined together to make Roma.She attended Thornhill College, a Catholic girls school. Her mother, Maureen O'<mask>, a housewife with an interest in the performing arts, died from a heart attack at age 48 when <mask> was 10 years old. Her father, <mask>, was a school teacher by training but worked as a mortgage broker. Her father died when <mask> was 20. Originally, she planned to be a painter and earned a Bachelor of Arts at Brighton College of Art. <mask> studied BA (Hons) Expressive Arts at Brighton Polytechnic (which later became Brighton University). Based at the Falmer campus, <mask> combined Art and Drama for her degree.Career
She joined the Abbey Players, based at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, and toured the United States in a production of The Playboy of the Western World. <mask> moved to New York City after an agent, whom she met during the tour of The Playboy of the Western World, suggested she had potential for success there. She took a job as a coat checker at an Upper West Side restaurant before getting cast in Broadway shows. The production led to a nomination during the Broadway run for the Helen Hayes Best Actress Award in 1991. She also starred on Broadway in The Circle with Sir Rex Harrison and also at the Roundabout Theater and The Public Theater in New York City. <mask> played the role of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in the American television miniseries A Woman Named Jackie (1991) which won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries in 1992. Touched by an Angel

Downey's role as Jacqueline Kennedy led to her most famous role, as the angel Monica, on the CBS series Touched by an Angel, opposite singer-actress, Della Reese, and John Dye which ran from 1994 to 2003.She received one nomination and one win at the TV Guide awards for favorite actress and also  received two Emmy Award nominations and two Golden Globe nominations. <mask> has said the character Monica interested her because it was a strong female role, which were "few and far between" and for its spiritual aspects: <mask> has also spoken of her deep and lasting love for and friendship with Della Reese. The two remained close until Reese's death on 19 November 2017. She commented that Reese was "such an influence on my life. She was my mother. I was a girl without a mother and for certain God brought her into my life. She was one of the lasting gifts of Touched by an Angel."The Bible
On 24 May 2011, <mask> and husband Mark Burnett announced they were producing a 10-hour docudrama for the History channel, The Bible, based on stories from the Bible scheduled to air in 2013. They began planning it in 2009 and lined up their own financing. The full production cost was US$22 million. <mask> and Burnett wanted to stay as true to the content in the Bible as possible so they put together a wide variety of pastors and academics to review the script and filming. For example, they worked with Pastors Joel Osteen and Rick Warren and academics such as Craig A. Evans and Mark Goodacre. The Bible has been watched by over 100 million viewers in the United States alone  The series has been the number one downloaded series in iTunes and ranked on Amazon's best sellers in movies and television. A theatrical release was released on 28 February 2014 in the United States, under the title Son of God.The Bible was nominated for the 2013 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries or Movie. <mask> played the role of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The Bible was filmed in 2012 in Morocco. In July 2013, it was announced that <mask> and Burnett would produce A.D., the sequel to The Bible. In December 2013, NBC ordered A.D.. The series covered the spread of Christianity after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Other work
<mask> also produced and starred in television movies including Borrowed Hearts and Second Honeymoon.During the run of Touched by an Angel, she recorded the spoken-word album Healing Angel. and wrote the children's book Love Is A Family. She also coauthored a book with her husband "A Story of God and All of Us". She hosted It's a Miracle (TV series), on the Pax Network and appeared on stage in A Picasso at the Geffen Theatre in Los Angeles. She portrayed Annie Sullivan in the TV movie Monday After the Miracle (1998). She has hosted Saturday Night Live, was one of People Magazine'''s most beautiful people. She is a spokesperson for the volunteer group "Operation Smile".In 2009, she starred in the movie Come Dance at My Wedding alongside John Schneider. On 16 July 2011, she appeared with actress Marion Ross in the made-for-TV movie Keeping up with the Randalls, broadcast on the Hallmark Channel. <mask> is the executive producer of the animated video series, Little Angels, which was released on DVD with 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment on 14 February 2012. In December 2013, CBS announced a new miniseries with <mask> and her husband, Mark Burnett, The Dovekeepers based on the New York Times Bestseller by Alice Hoffman. The miniseries aired in 2015. In September 2014, MGM acquired a 55% interest in One Three Media and Lightworkers Media. The two companies consolidated into a new film and television company, United Artists Media Group.Burnett became UA's CEO and <mask> became president of LightWorkers Media. In December 2015, MGM acquired the remaining 45% of Hearst's, Burnett's and <mask>'s interests in United Artists Media Group (UAMG), which was absorbed under the MGM Television Group umbrella. <mask> remains President of LightWorkers Media, which became the Faith & Family division of MGM. <mask> executive produced a re-telling of Ben-Hur, starring Jack Huston, which was released in August 2016. <mask>'s newest book, Box of Butterflies, is set for release in March 2018. Personal life
<mask> is married to television producer Mark Burnett. She has two step-sons, James Burnett and Cameron Burnett, and a daughter, Reilly Marie <mask> Anspaugh (born 3 June 1996) from her previous marriage to director David Anspaugh.She was also previously married to actor Leland Orser. Reilly is named after her grandmother, Maureen O'<mask>. On Thanksgiving Day 2006, Burnett proposed to <mask> during a family vacation in Zihuatanejo, Mexico. They wed on 28 April 2007 in their Malibu home. Her Touched by an Angel co-star, Della Reese, officiated at the wedding. <mask> is a "Smile Ambassador" for the non-profit organization Operation Smile which provides surgeries for children around the world who were born with severe cleft lip and palate. She has traveled on several international missions with the group to Vietnam, Honduras, and Jordan.She supported the unsuccessful candidacy of Martin McGuinness for President of Ireland in 2011. <mask> received the Sally Award by the Salvation Army for her contribution to entertainment and helping those in need on 1 October 2015. <mask> was raised a Roman Catholic. On 18 April 2009, <mask> and Burnett delivered the keynote address and accepted honorary doctorate degrees at Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business and Management commencement ceremony. <mask> also has a Doctor of Fine Art (DFA) honorary degree from the University of Ulster for her outstanding contribution to acting and philanthropy, and she and Burnett received honorary Doctor of Letters degrees from Nyack College in 2014. In 2010, <mask> graduated from the University of Santa Monica with a master's degree in Spiritual Psychology. <mask> was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2021 Birthday Honours for services to the arts, drama and the community in Northern Ireland.Filmography

Television

 Film

 Producer

Discography
In 1999, <mask> signed with RCA Victor Records and recorded a CD called Healing Angel'', released on 14 September 1999. Stage

Awards and nominations

Publications
 "Love Is a Family." (2001). Harper Entertainment
 "Box of Butterflies: Discovering the Unexpected Blessing All Around Us." (2018). References

External links

 <mask> at Irish Central

20th-century actresses from Northern Ireland
21st-century actresses from Northern Ireland
Alumni of the Drama Studio London
Alumni of the University of Brighton
Film producers from Northern Ireland
Living people
People educated at Thornhill College
People from Derry (city)
Television actresses from Northern Ireland
British women film producers
Year of birth missing (living people)
Officers of the Order of the British Empire

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Roma Burnett
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<mask> (June 6, 1955 – March 8, 2015) was an American director, producer, writer, animal rights activist and philanthropist, who co-developed the television series The Simpsons. While at Stanford University, <mask> worked as a newspaper cartoonist and after graduating became a storyboard artist at Filmation Studios. <mask> submitted a spec script for the sitcom Taxi, which was produced, and he later became the series' showrunner. Over the next few years, <mask> wrote and produced for Cheers, It's Garry Shandling's Show and other programs, as well as writing the 1991 film The Super. <mask> turned to fields outside television in his later years. He regularly appeared on Howard Stern's radio shows, managed boxer Lamon Brewster and helped guide him to the World Boxing Organization Heavyweight Championship in 2004, and was a regular poker player and six-time in the money finisher at the World Series of Poker. <mask> founded the Sam Simon Foundation, which consists of a mobile veterinary clinic that goes into low-income neighborhoods offering free surgeries for cats and dogs several days per week, as well as a program that rescues and trains shelter dogs.He also funded the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society vessel MY <mask>. <mask> was engaged at the time of his death, having been previously twice married, including to the actress Jennifer Tilly. Following a profile of <mask> on 60 Minutes in 2007, CBS writer Daniel Schorn wrote in an online article that <mask> was "perhaps the Renaissance man of the baffling, uncertain age we live in." <mask> was diagnosed with terminal colorectal cancer in 2012 and given only three to six months to live. <mask> died on March 8, 2015. He bequeathed his $100 million estate to various charities that he actively supported during his lifetime. Early life
<mask> <mask> was born on June 6, 1955, in Los Angeles, California, United States.He grew up in Beverly Hills and Malibu. <mask>'s family lived opposite Groucho Marx. <mask>'s father was a cheap clothing manufacturer and was of Estonian-Jewish heritage. <mask> had a childhood which has been described as "comfortable" and "privileged". Although his parents wanted <mask> to become a lawyer, he was interested in art from a young age, appearing on televised local art programs as young as the age of five. He once was told by Walt Disney that he would one day work at his studio. <mask> attended Beverly Hills High School, where he was on the football team and served as a cartoonist for the school newspaper.He was named "Most Humorous" and "Most Talented" in his senior yearbook. He later attended Stanford University, graduating in 1977. <mask> had not wished to attend college, but Stanford persuaded him to apply due to his sufficient grades and proficiency at football; <mask> quit the football team after one day. <mask> drew comics for The Stanford Daily, a college newspaper, but was denied admission to a drawing class for not being talented enough. As he recalled to the Stanford alumni magazine, he was told, "You'd be taking the space of a student who has talent." <mask> majored in psychology, but did not focus on his academics. Career

Early career
While still at Stanford, <mask>'s first job was a newspaper sports cartoonist for The San Francisco Chronicle and The San Francisco Examiner.After graduating, he worked as a television storyboard artist, and later a writer, at Filmation Studios. There he worked on several animated shows, including The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle and Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1979). <mask> recalls Filmation approving of his work because he was "self-taught and unschooled," but <mask> felt the majority of what the studio produced was "awful". On the suggestion of Filmation producer Lou Scheimer who was impressed by <mask>'s writing ability, <mask> submitted a spec script for the series Taxi which was produced as "Out of Commission" and aired in 1981 during its third season. <mask> was hired as a writer, quickly becoming showrunner for its fifth and final season in 1983. <mask> next worked as a writer and producer on Cheers from seasons one to three (1982–1985), writing five episodes: "Endless Slumper", "Battle of the Ex's", "Fairytales Can Come True", "Cheerio Cheers" and "The Bartender's Tale". <mask> created, wrote and produced the short-lived sitcom Shaping Up in 1984, alongside Ken Estin; the show starred Leslie Nielsen as a gym owner and ran for five episodes on ABC.<mask> also wrote and produced for Best of the West (1981), Barney Miller (1982) and It's Garry Shandling's Show (1987–1988), and wrote the 1991 film The Super. The Simpsons

<mask> co-developed the animated series The Simpsons, which premiered on the Fox network in 1989 and has remained on air ever since. The show is regarded as one of the greatest television series of all time, with Time magazine naming it the 20th century's best series. The premise for the series originated as a series of short cartoons airing in 1987 as part of The Tracey Ullman Show, on which <mask> was a writer and executive producer alongside James L. Brooks, with whom <mask> had worked on Taxi. The cartoons were developed into a full series two years later. For The Simpsons, <mask> served alongside Matt Groening (who conceived the show and the five main characters) and Brooks as executive producer and showrunner for the show's first (1989–1990) and second (1990–1991) seasons, and was creative supervisor for the first four seasons. He assembled and led the initial team of writers, consisting of John Swartzwelder, Jon Vitti, George Meyer, Jeff Martin, Al Jean, Mike Reiss, Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky.The cartoonist and writer Mimi Pond, who wrote the first broadcast episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" (1989), explained that she was not permitted to permanently join the show because <mask> deliberately kept women out of the writing team. <mask> has been credited with "developing [the show's] sensibility." Former Simpsons director Brad Bird has described him as "the unsung hero" of the show, while Vitti has stated to "leave out <mask>" is to tell "the managed version" of The Simpsons history, because "he was the guy we wrote for." Writer Ken Levine called <mask> "the real creative force behind The Simpsons ... The tone, the storytelling, the level of humor—that was all developed on <mask>'s watch." Levine says that <mask> "brought a level of honesty to the characters" and made them "three-dimensional," adding that his "comedy is all about character, not just a string of gags. In The Simpsons, the characters are motivated by their emotions and their foibles.'What are they thinking? '—that is <mask>'s contribution. The stories come from the characters." <mask> crafted much of the world of Springfield, and designed the models for many of the show's recurring characters, including Mr. Burns, Dr. Hibbert, Chief Wiggum and Eddie and Lou, as well as many of the one-time and guest-star roles, such as Bleeding Gums Murphy. One of his contributions to the show's character development was his proposal that Waylon Smithers should be gay, but that this should never have too much attention drawn to it; Smithers' sexuality became one of the show's longest-running gags. <mask> saw The Simpsons as a chance to solve "what [he] didn't like about the Saturday-morning cartoon shows [he had] worked on ... [he] wanted all the actors in a room together, not reading their lines separated from each other. The Simpsons would have been a great radio show.If you just listen to the sound track, it works." The Simpsons utilized a process of collaborative script re-writing by the show's whole writing staff; this meant the credited writer may not have been responsible for the majority of an episode's content. Nevertheless, <mask> was credited with co-writing the season one episodes "The Telltale Head," "The Crepes of Wrath," and the season finale "Some Enchanted Evening." "Some Enchanted Evening" was intended to be the show's premiere but was delayed due to substandard animation. <mask> adapted Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven for the third segment of the season two episode "Treehouse of Horror." Groening was nervous about "The Raven" because it did not have many gags, and felt it would be "the worst, most pretentious thing [they had] ever done" on the show. Nevertheless, the segment has often been praised as one of the best Treehouse of Horror stories in the show's history.Ryan J. Budke of TV Squad described the segment as "one of the most refined Simpsons pop references ever," and knows "people that consider this the point that they realized The Simpsons could be both highly hilarious and highly intelligent." <mask> co-wrote the episode "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish" with Swartzwelder, an episode which Tom Shales of the Washington Post has described as "a bull's-eye political satire". The final episode he co-wrote for season two was "The Way We Was," alongside Jean and Reiss. While Reiss and Jean took over as showrunners, <mask> remained on the writing staff for seasons three (1991–1992) and four (1992–1993). For the third season he co-wrote "Treehouse of Horror II," and conceived the story for the Sideshow Bob episode "Black Widower," together with mystery author Thomas Chastain, hoping to construct a full mystery story; Vitti wrote the episode's teleplay. <mask> also substantially contributed to the episode "Stark Raving Dad," pitched the episode "Homer at the Bat," and proposed the "Land of Chocolate" sequence from "Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk." <mask>'s final writing credit was for the "Dial 'Z' For Zombies" segment of "Treehouse of Horror III."Although they initially worked well together, <mask> and Groening's relationship became "very contentious" according to Groening. <mask> never expected the show to be a success, often proclaiming to fellow staff members "We're thirteen and out"—meaning that the show would be canceled after the thirteen episodes of the first season. Therefore, he also told the staff that they had creative freedom to do whatever they wanted to make The Simpsons as good a show as possible, regardless of network or public opinion, because he thought it inevitably would not be renewed; he elaborated in 2009 that "Really I was saying that to take the pressure off of everyone. I was just saying let's just go out and make 13 episodes that are really good and really funny." However, Groening interpreted it as meaning <mask> was uncommitted and did not care whether the show was a success or not, as <mask>'s career would survive, whereas his own would not. In 2001, Groening described <mask> as "brilliantly funny and one of the smartest writers I've ever worked with, although unpleasant and mentally unbalanced." According to John Ortved's book The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History, when the show became successful <mask> resented the media attention Groening received, particularly the praise for the show's writing; <mask> felt that Groening's involvement was limited, and that he should have been the one receiving credit for the show.<mask> later spoke well of Groening's influence, particularly on the show's positive tone. As well as Groening, <mask> was often at odds with Brooks and production company Gracie Films. While working on The Simpsons, he and Brooks had co-created the series Sibs (1991) and Phenom (1993) as part of a multi-series deal for ABC. <mask> did not want to work on either series, both of which were poorly received and swiftly canceled, which put a strain on the pair's relationship. <mask> left Gracie Films and The Simpsons in 1993; he commented that he "wasn't enjoying it anymore," wished to pursue other projects, and that of "any show I've ever worked on, it turns me into a monster. I go crazy. I hate myself."Before leaving, he negotiated a deal that saw him receive a share of the show's profits every year, particularly from home media, and an executive producer credit despite not having worked on the show since 1993. The deal means he made over $10 million a year from The Simpsons; he later told Stanford Magazine that "tens of millions" was a closer figure. <mask> commented: "When I was there I thought I was underpaid. I thought I wasn't getting enough credit for it. Now, I think it's completely the opposite. I get too much credit for it. And the money is ridiculous."Subsequent media work
In January 1994, <mask> co-created with comedian George Carlin the sitcom The George Carlin Show for Fox. It aired for 27 episodes before being canceled in December 1995. <mask> served as showrunner throughout its run and directed several episodes. <mask> persuaded Carlin to do the show after writing it as something which would not be "typically sitcomy." He conceived the show as what Carlin's life would have been like

masks:
Samuel Michael Simon
Simon
Simon
Simon
Simon
Simon
Sam Simon
Simon
Simon
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Simon
Samuel Michael
Simon
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Sam Simon
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 had he never become a comedian; Carlin played a heavy drinking New York taxi driver. <mask> commented: "When I was doing The Simpsons, people couldn't see how smart it was because of the low moments. There's something about this show.People who like it say it's classy. They don't see how vulgar it is." Carlin wrote negatively of his relationship with <mask>. On his own website, Carlin wrote of the show: "always check mental health of creative partner beforehand. Loved the actors, loved the crew. Had a great time. Couldn't wait to get the fuck out of there."In his final book, the posthumously published Last Words (2009), Carlin elaborated: "I had a great time. I never laughed so much, so often, so hard as I did with cast members Alex Rocco, Chris Rich, Tony Starke. There was a very strange, very good sense of humor on that stage ... The biggest problem, though, was that <mask> was a fucking horrible person to be around. Very, very funny, extremely bright and brilliant, but an unhappy person who treated other people poorly." <mask> described himself as "combative" and said that most people see him as having a "bad attitude". In the late 1990s, <mask> primarily worked as a director.He directed on the American adaptation of the sitcom Men Behaving Badly in 1996, the Friends season three episode "The One Without the Ski Trip" in 1997, and several episodes of The Norm Show (1999) and The Michael Richards Show (2000). From 1998 to 2003, he served as a consulting producer and director for The Drew Carey Show, and directed the show's series finale. He was also a creative consultant on Bless This House in 1996. From 1999 to some time in the early 2000s, <mask> was President of e-Nexus Studios the once entertainment content arm of ZeniMax Media, Parent Company of video game publisher Bethesda Softworks. After E-Nexus was shut down, <mask> became President of the creative group at ZeniMax Productions, another subsidiary of ZeniMax. After leaving The Simpsons and The George Carlin Show, <mask> sought to find a "life outside television," as working in the industry "made [him] crazy." On working in television, <mask> concluded: "In some ways, it's the greatest job in the world.You make a product that's given away, and all it does is make people smile. Nobody gets hurt, there's no damage, and you can get crazy rich." <mask> retired from full-time television work, although still worked in the media, frequently contributing, as a writer and a participant, to Howard Stern's radio shows. He wrote and directed the one-off radio sitcom "The Bitter Half" for Stern's Howard 101 in 2006. <mask> had his own show on Radioio. <mask> returned to television production work in 2012, serving as a consultant and director on the series Anger Management for half a day a week. Other ventures

Animal rights

<mask> was a staunch advocate for animal rights and veganism, and described himself as an "animal lover".Around the year 2000, he joined People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Starting in 2002, he self-funded, at an annual cost of several million dollars, The Sam Simon Foundation, which has a mobile clinic that provides free surgeries for cats and dogs, as well as rescuing and retraining shelter dogs who might otherwise be euthanized. An episode of 60 Minutes broadcast in March 2007 described it as "the grandest dog shelter in the country, a five star, [] spread in Malibu, perhaps the most desirable real estate on the planet. Here, among the waterfalls and the manicured grounds, The Sam Simon Foundation gives stray and abandoned dogs a new lease on life, literally." As <mask> explained, the foundation aims to "rescue dogs" and "train them to be service dogs, [to help] people with disabilities," primarily the deaf. It also provides free veterinary surgeries to pets belonging to low-income families, and trains dogs to help soldiers returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan deal with post-traumatic stress disorder. <mask> said the money he used was "well spent just for the pleasure it gives me."The training program has a 20% success rate, because many of the rescued dogs "have physical and psychological problems" but the dogs who cannot be trained are put up for adoption. The foundation is non-profit, and does not accept public donations. In 2011, <mask> established and self-funded a second non-profit called The <mask> Foundation: Feeding Families. This is a food truck which delivers vegan food to about 200 low-income families each week. He also donated an undisclosed sum to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in 2012 for the purpose of purchasing another vessel for their fleet, the , which was unveiled in December 2012. <mask> was also a board member for Save the Children, and hosted the largest annual fundraiser for PETA, who named him an Honorary Director and their Norfolk, Virginia headquarters building after him. <mask> has stated that animal rights charities have been his main target for donations, over other causes like human disease and environmental damage, because "your money can bring success" with visible results.<mask> stated in 2011 that there is "nothing [which gives him] more pleasure than" helping others via his charities, and gave away most of his fortune. Boxing

<mask> was a long time fan of boxing, attending fights with his grandfather, but his interest increased particularly after seeing the 1990 heavyweight championship fight between Evander Holyfield and James "Buster" Douglas which he described as "the most electrifying feeling I'd had in my life." He began training and won six out of nine amateur fights; he was also a reserve contestant on the Fox series Celebrity Boxing. <mask> was for eight years the manager of heavyweight boxer Lamon Brewster, the now-retired former World Boxing Organization heavyweight champion. He met Brewster in 1997 and began managing him, helping him rise to the top of the WBO rankings. He considers guiding Brewster to his April 2004 victory over Wladimir Klitschko to win the vacant WBO Heavyweight Championship, with Klitschko the heavy favorite, to be amongst the greatest moments of his life; it "eclipsed everything he had achieved in a glittering 26-year showbiz career." Before the Klitschko fight, <mask> calculated he had spent several hundred thousand dollars funding Brewster, paying him a large salary on top of match fees as well as letting him stay rent-free at one of his houses, and taking only a 10% cut of the match fees; however, he never intended boxing to be a substantial "source of revenue".<mask> retired from boxing management soon after Brewster became WBO Heavyweight Champion. Poker
<mask> was a regular poker player, and Texas hold 'em in particular. He was introduced to the game as a child through weekly family poker games and casino trips with his grandfather. <mask> did not consider himself a serious player until a game at writer David Steinberg's house with several "scholarly" players, which encouraged him to study the game and enter numerous tournaments, although he decided not to become professional. He competed at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) each year between 2007 and 2011, finishing in the money in six events. In 2007, at the 6,358-player $10,000 No-Limit Texas Hold'em Main Event, he finished 329th with $39,445. He also finished 16th winning $35,493 at the $1,000 1,048-player No-Limit Hold'em w/Re-Buys in 2007, 41st winning $10,708 at the $1,000 706-player No-Limit Hold'em w/ReBuys in 2008, 53rd winning $10,692 at the $1,000 879-player No-Limit Hold'em w/ReBuys in 2008, 20th winning $24,066 at the $10,000 275-player World Championship Pot-Limit Hold'em in 2009, and 500th winning $23,876 at the $10,000 6,865-player No-Limit Hold'em Championship in 2011.He also won the $300 438-player No-Limit Hold'em Bounty $100,000 Guarantee at the 2009 L.A. Poker Open, winning $22,228. His biggest win in terms of both field size and prize money was the $200 1,082-player No-Limit Hold'em $150,000 Guarantee at the 2010 Winnin O' The Green, where he won $57,308. <mask>'s private poker games between him and his celebrity friends have been described as "raucous and very entertaining". Their reputation led Playboy TV to produce the show Sam's Game, a televised version featuring <mask> as host and master of ceremonies of a Las Vegas celebrity Texas Hold 'em match; he produced the show. He had previously appeared on a 2009 episode of High Stakes Poker. Awards
<mask> won nine Primetime Emmy Awards and received ten further nominations for his work.For The Tracey Ullman Show he won the Emmys for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series in 1989 and Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program in 1990. In the former he was nominated again in 1990, for the latter he was also nominated in 1987, 1988 and 1989. He received the Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour) for The Simpsons in 1990, 1991, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2001 with further nominations in 1990 (for "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" which was counted as a separate special), 1992, 1996, 1999 and 2002. He was nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series for Taxi in 1983 and Cheers in 1985, Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for It's Garry Shandling's Show in 1988 and Outstanding Variety, Music Or Comedy Special for The Best of Tracey Ullman Show in 1990. He also won a Peabody Award for The Simpsons in 1996. In 2013, <mask> was awarded the Writers Guild of America Award Animation Writers Caucus lifetime achievement award for his work in animation; the following year the WGA awarded him the Valentine Davies Award for his humanitarian and philanthropic efforts. Personal life
<mask> was married to actress Jennifer Tilly from 1984 to 1991; they remained friends after their divorce.He married Playboy Playmate Jami Ferrell in 2000, and the marriage lasted three weeks. <mask> was engaged to chef and caterer Jenna Stewart around 2011. In 2012, he began dating Kate Porter, a make-up artist; they were together until his death. <mask> became a vegetarian at the age of 19 and when joining People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals around 2000, he turned to veganism. He had three dogs. He lived in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, in the restored Bailey House, designed by Richard Neutra. After his home was destroyed by a fire in 2007, <mask> redesigned it to be environmentally friendly; much of the interior is constructed from recycled materials while solar panels provide virtually its entire power needs.The building has a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold certificate. He had an extensive art collection; he owned paintings by Thomas Hart Benton, John Singer Sargent and one of the original casts of Auguste Rodin's The Thinker. He also had a sculpture by Robert Graham and works by Alberto Vargas, Gil Elvgren, Ed Ruscha and Richard Estes. Illness and death
In late 2012, <mask> was diagnosed with terminal colorectal cancer that later metastasized to his other organs, including his liver and kidneys. He had been feeling ill for some time and had earlier been misdiagnosed. He was given between three and six months to live; chemotherapy treatment reduced the size of his tumors over the following six months. He arranged for his fortune to be left to various charitable causes, stating "The truth is, I have more money than I'm interested in spending.Everyone in my family is taken care of. And I enjoy this." <mask> died in his Los Angeles home from complications of the disease on March 8, 2015, aged 59. His remains were interred at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles. Controversy surrounds the management of his trust, and the lack of donations to groups that he supported in his lifetime. The Simpsons episode "Waiting for Duffman" was dedicated to him. Filmography

References
Footnotes

Bibliography

External links

 Sam <mask> Foundation
 The Sam Simon Foundation's Mobile Veterinary Clinic
 <mask> at the World Series of Poker
 <mask> at Bluff Magazine
 <mask> at Card Player
 <mask> at the Mob Poker Database

1955 births
2015 deaths
American animal rights activists
American boxing managers
American people of Estonian-Jewish descent
American poker players
American storyboard artists
American television directors
Television producers from California
American television writers
American male television writers
Beverly Hills High School alumni
California Democrats
Deaths from cancer in California
Deaths from colorectal cancer
People from Beverly Hills, California
People from Malibu, California
Philanthropists from California
Primetime Emmy Award winners
Sportspeople from California
Stanford University alumni
Writers from Los Angeles
Jewish American writers
Veganism activists
Screenwriters from California
20th-century American philanthropists
21st-century American

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<mask> (born 29 October 1911 in Göttingen – died 2 December 1976 in Greifswald) was one of the leading agricultural politicians in the early years of the GDR. He was at various times Secretary General of the VdgB (the Peasants Mutual Aid Association), deputy in the parliament (the Volkskammer) and a member of the Central Committee of the SED. Early days and emigration
<mask> was born in Göttingen, the son of a bank employee. After attending high school, in 1930-1931 he completed an apprenticeship as an agricultural agent in Eisleben. In his youth he was a member of the Wandervogel movement (similar to the Boy Scouts). In 1930 he joined the Hitler Youth, in which he remained until 1932, and was promoted there to the level of deputy "Jungbannführer" (Junior colonel). In parallel, from 1931 he was working for the KJVD, the Young Communist League of Germany.By 1932 <mask> was a member of the KJVD in Weissenfels and member of the Commiunist Party, the KPD. His final Communist activities in Germany were as an employee of the KJVD for Saxony-Anhalt. In autumn 1933 <mask> emigrated to Denmark. He was initially in Lyngby and Gentofte working for International Red Aid. From 1935 until the occupation of the country in 1940 <mask> was a visiting student at the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University in Copenhagen. In parallel, from 1936 he was an employee of the illegal KPD leadership for the Northern sector. <mask> was member of a group led by Walter Weidauer which was called the "Peasant Commission", which aimed to make contact with farmer groups in Germany.This group published the magazine "Bauernbriefe" (Farmers' Letters), for which <mask> wrote articles under the pseudonym "Oswald". Since in the public image he was not necessarily seen as a communist, from the beginning of 1940 he could officially study agriculture. By the German occupation in April 1940 <mask> was however again forced into illegality. The next few years were spent largely with little political action. He dealt mainly with collection of information on Scandinavian agriculture for the Moscow Communist Party headquarters. In 1943 the KPD sent most of its members in Denmark to Sweden, including <mask>. There he was interned briefly in a camp near Tyllesand.He then worked as a forester and as a factory worker. As leader of the Communist Party group in Gothenburg-Borås he here came, probably for the first time, into contact with Herbert Wehner. Since <mask> could prove his guest studentship in Copenhagen to have been successful, from 1944 he was able to resume his studies at the Ultuna Agricultural University in Uppsala as part of a Swedish aid program for Scandinavian Hitler refugees. During his stay in Sweden, he was greatly influenced by the agricultural policies of the Swedish Social Democratic Party program. This influence was shown in his policy statement, published in 1944, "The farmers and the upcoming democratic republic" in which he called for the creation of cooperatives, but also spoke out in favour of maintaining the capitalist mode of production. This programme and his course of study were the basis for <mask>'s status as the agricultural expert of the exiled KPD. In the spring of 1945, <mask> returned to Denmark.He was initially secretary of the Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee in Copenhagen and was later taken on as an employee at the Danish Ministry of Social Affairs. Before his return to Germany <mask> was also the political head of the Copenhagen KPD group. Return to Germany
In summer 1946 <mask> and his wife Gertrud returned via Poland to Halle in the Soviet occupation zone. As a former Communist Party member, he now became a member of the Socialist Unity Party (SED). He was assigned to the VdgB and became its deputy secretary for Saxony-Anhalt. Soon, however, he rose to the position of National Secretary. In mid-August 1947, not least because of his professional qualifications, <mask> was entrusted by party decision with the post of Secretary General of the VdgB, succeeding Anton Jadasch.The first German peasant congress, at which the regional associations were dissolved and the central Association was founded, legitimized this decision with an official election. <mask> now became very active and lectured at various universities about his agricultural policy ideas in which, among other things, he repeatedly defended the family farm. He argued consistently for the retention of the former agricultural structures and for the "full development of the private initiative of farms". This scientific activity in 1951 led to his appointment as full member of the German Academy of Agricultural Sciences. In 1948 <mask> was taken on as an employee of the Office of the German Economic Commission (DWK), the predecessor of the East German government. In January 1949, <mask> was co-opted into the party leadership of the SED and at the third SED Party Congress, in 1950, elected onto the Central Committee of the SED, where he remained until 1954, and there acted as secretary for rural affairs. In this role, <mask> designed, within the framework of the existing Soviet policy on Germany, several agricultural programmes, including some for the whole of Germany, influenced by German and Scandinavian social democratic programmes, but also using ideas from the Reichsnährstand, the agricultural regulatory body from the Nazi period.In the elections for the Volkskammer (parliament) on 19 October 1950 he was chosen as a deputy for the SED, which he remained for the entire first term. On behalf of the Central Committee of the SED Vieweg set to work on the construction of illegal organisations, including the conspiratorial "All-German Working Group for Agriculture and Forestry" in West Germany, which he also led. Enemy of the Party
In the spring of 1952, however, this illegal (from a GDR viewpoint) work of the VdgB in the West was revealed. This event together with an investigation in a party purge by the Central Party Control Commission of the SED of Vieweg's activity in his Scandinavian emigration brought him gradually into disrepute. As it was suspected that he might flee, he was kept under observation by the Ministry of State Security (the Stasi). In consequence of the investigation by the Central Party Control Commission, despite very conflicting accounts by witnesses of his activities in the Nordic countries <mask> was accused of faking questionnaires, which made it necessary, in the Commission's view, for him at least to be removed from the Secretariat of the SED. Officially a resignation for health reasons was announced.He was also removed from his position as General Secretary of the VdgB. <mask> was not dropped altogether, however, but tasked with setting up the Institute of Agricultural Economics at the German Academy of Agricultural Sciences. He was now in a position to begin an academic career. He received his doctorate in 1955 at the Humboldt University of Berlin and was appointed professor of the German Academy of Agricultural Sciences. As editor along with Otto Rosenkranz of the multi-volume reference work "Handbook for cooperative farmers" in the same year he received the National Prize of the GDR. <mask> claimed a leading position for his institute in agro-economic research in the GDR. This claim, and the creation of internal party brochures that were strongly influenced by his study trip to Sweden and Denmark in November 1955 and were met with little enthusiasm by many high SED functionaries, did not work to his advantage.By-passing him and his institution, the SED created an agricultural commission to promote collectivization. Disillusioned by this policy and affected by the revelations of the 20th Congress of the CPSU and the events of autumn 1956 in Hungary <mask> criticized the existing agricultural policy of the SED. In November 1956, therefore, <mask> proposed his own programme with the title "New agricultural programme for the development of agriculture in the building of socialism in the GDR". During the 30th Central Committee plenum on 30 January 1957 this programme was denounced by Walter Ulbricht as "restoration of capitalism in agriculture". They came down heavily on him. On 18 March 1957 the Central Party Control Commission of the SED decided on his expulsion from the party together with his forced resignation from all political office. Escape and imprisonment
In this situation, <mask> saw his only way out as flight to West Germany.On 27 March 1957 he set off for West Berlin. He initially found refuge as guest of Herbert Wehner. Then on 19 October he unexpectedly returned to the GDR. (It has been suggested that <mask> returned having been given a guarantee of impunity by Markus Wolf, and at the urging of Herbert Wehner.) Probably in breach of promises given, he was immediately arrested, although the warrant was not issued until 27 March 1958. In October 1959, the Supreme Court of the GDR convicted <mask> of "treason" and sentenced him to twelve years in prison, along with forfeiture of all titles and claims. In December 1964 he was released from prison in Bautzen by a pardon of the State Council.On 27 December 1990, the verdict was set aside by the district court in Berlin. As an academic in Greifswald
In 1965 <mask> was given a job in the Nordic Institute of the University of Greifswald. In 1969 he was research group leader and he took up teaching again. As well as his research <mask> also worked for the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Stasi. From 1971 he was a full professor, until he retired in 1974. He continued to live in Greifswald, but died of cancer in a Berlin hospital on 2 December 1976. Sources
 Wer war wer in der DDR?Michael F. Scholz: Bauernopfer der deutschen Frage. Der Kommunist Kurt Vieweg im Dschungel der Geheimdienste. Aufbau Taschenbuch Verlag, Berlin 1997, . Michael F. Scholz: Skandinavische Erfahrungen erwünscht?. Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 2000, . (auf Google Books)

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1911 births
1976 deaths
Politicians from Göttingen
People from Greifswald
People from the Province of Hanover
Communist Party of Germany politicians
Members of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany
Members of the Provisional Volkskammer
Members of the 1st Volkskammer
Peasants Mutual Aid Association members
Communists in the German Resistance
Emigrants from Nazi Germany
Recipients of the National Prize of East Germany

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