John James "Jack" Welch Jr. (August 23, 1930 – October 8, 2010) was a United States scientist and businessman who served as Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition) from 1987 to 1992.

Biography

John J. Welch Jr. was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts on August 23, 1930.George Bush: Continuation of John J. Welch Jr. as an Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, Aug. 9, 1989
/ref> He was educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, graduating with a B.S. in 1951. After college, Welch got a job with Vought (which was acquired by Ling-Temco-Vought in 1961). From 1965 to 1970, he was vice president of the missiles and space division of LTV Aerospace. In this capacity, from 1965 to 1970, he was also the Chief Scientist of the United States Air Force. In 1970, he became LTV Aerospace's Vice President (Programs), a position he held until 1974, when he was named corporate vice president. He was then promoted to Senior Vice President of LTV Aerospace in 1975, holding this position until 1985. On July 1, 1987, President of the United States

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

nominated Welch to be Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition).Nomination of John J. Welch Jr. To Be an Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, July 1, 1987
/ref> President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

chose to keep Welch in this position, and he served until the end of the Bush Administration. He was briefly Acting United States Secretary of the Air Force, from April 29, 1989 until May 21, 1989. After leaving government service in 1992, Welch served on the

Board of Directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

of a number of corporations, including MBDA-US, Verint Systems,

Serco Serco Group plc is a British company with headquarters based in Hook, Hampshire, England. Serco primarily derives income as a contractor for the provision of government services, most prominently in the sectors of health, transport, justice, i ...

, Dynacs Military & Defense, Meggitt, and Wilcoxon Research.John Welch Obituary
/ref> Welch died on October 8, 2010 in Plano, Texas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Welch, John J. Jr. 1930 births 2010 deaths Chief Scientists of the United States Air Force Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni