Robert Trowbridge Hartmann (April 8, 1917 – April 11, 2008) was an American political advisor, speechwriter and reporter, who served as Chief of Staff for Vice President Gerald Ford and

Counselor to the President Counselor or counsellor may refer to: A professional In diplomacy and government * Counsellor of State, senior member of the British royal family to whom the Monarch can delegate some functions in case of unavailability * Counselor (dip ...

when Ford was elevated to the presidency in 1974.

Early life and career

Hartmann was born April 8, 1917, in Rapid City, South Dakota, the only child of Miner Louis and Elizabeth Trowbridge Hartmann. His father was a chemical engineer and a patent lawyer. Hartmann grew up in Upstate New York and Southern California. He joined the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' as a reporter in 1939, a year after graduating from Stanford University. During World War II, he worked in public relations and press censorship roles for the Navy in the Pacific. He retired from the Navy Reserve in 1977 with the rank of captain. Resuming his career at the Times after the war, he was Washington bureau chief from 1954 to 1963 and finished his newspaper career the next year after opening the Rome bureau.

Early political career

After leaving the ''Times'', Hartmann became an information adviser for the

United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

. In 1966, he went to work for the House Republican Conference as a press aide. In 1969, Hartmann joined the staff of then-Minority Leader Gerald Ford as a Legislative Assistant, rising to become one of Ford's most trusted advisors.

Chief of Staff to the Vice President

After President Nixon nominated Gerald Ford to be Vice President on October 12, 1973, Hartmann coordinated Ford's preparations for the confirmation hearings on the nomination. He then became Vice President Ford's chief of staff. It soon became obvious that the burden of administrative matters—hiring staff, finding office space, etc. -- kept Hartmann from devoting sufficient time to speeches, political liaison, and advising the Vice President. Ford solved this problem by hiring L. William Seidman as an assistant for administration, which left Hartmann to advise Ford on political matters.

Counselor to the President

When Gerald Ford succeeded to the presidency on August 9, 1974, he quickly named Hartmann as Counselor to the President, with Cabinet status. In this position, one of Hartmann's main responsibilities was supervision of the editorial Staff in the preparation of presidential speeches, statements, messages, and correspondence. He also handled White House liaison with Republican Party organizations and advised President Ford on a wide variety of matters that went beyond his formal duties. Hartmann drafted President Ford's address to the nation upon taking office, coining the phrase "long national nightmare" to describe the

Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's contin ...

and resignation of Nixon.

Later life and career

After Ford left office, Hartmann served as a senior research fellow at the

Hoover Institution The Hoover Institution (officially The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace; abbreviated as Hoover) is an American public policy think tank and research institution that promotes personal and economic liberty, free enterprise, an ...

at his alma mater Stanford, and a trustee of the Gerald R. Ford Foundation. In 1980, he wrote his autobiography, ''Palace Politics'', focusing on his time at the White House.

References

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hartmann, Robert T 1917 births 2008 deaths United States Navy personnel of World War II Journalists from California California Republicans Counselors to the President Los Angeles Times people Ford administration cabinet members Nixon administration personnel Writers from California Speechwriters for presidents of the United States Stanford University alumni White House Directors of Speechwriting United States Navy captains United States Navy reservists 20th-century American journalists American male journalists