William Bart Saxbe ( ; June 24, 1916 – August 24, 2010) was an American diplomat and politician affiliated with the Republican Party, who served as a

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

for

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, and was the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

for Presidents Richard M. Nixon and

Gerald R. Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

, and as the U.S. Ambassador to India. At the time of his death, Saxbe was the oldest living Republican Senator and the second-oldest living Senator overall (after

Harry F. Byrd Jr. Harry Flood Byrd Jr. (December 20, 1914 – July 30, 2013) was an American orchardist, newspaper publisher and politician. He served in the Senate of Virginia and then represented Virginia in the United States Senate, succeeding his father, Harr ...

of Virginia).

Early life and career

Saxbe was born 1916 in

Mechanicsburg, Ohio Mechanicsburg is a village in Champaign County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,644 at the 2010 census. History Mechanicsburg was platted in 1814. The village was so named for the fact a large share of its settlers worked as mechan ...

, the son of Faye Henry "Maggie" (''née'' Carey) Saxbe, and Bart Rockwell Saxbe. He received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

, from The

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

, Class of 1940, where he was a member of the Chi Phi Fraternity. He served in the U.S. Army Air Forces, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, from 1940 to 1945, and

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, from 1951 to 1952. When he returned from

, he entered Ohio State University law school. However, while still in law school, he campaigned for the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...

during 1947, and won. During 1948, when Saxbe was near the end of second term, he received a

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers. But while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not confer a license themselves. A legal license is gra ...

. He remained in the

Ohio National Guard The Ohio National Guard comprises the Ohio Army National Guard and the Ohio Air National Guard. The commander-in-chief of the Ohio Army National Guard is the governor of the U.S. state of Ohio. If the Ohio Army National Guard is called to fed ...

and was on active duty during the

, from 1951 to 1952. He was discharged from the reserve with the rank of colonel during 1963. He served as the Ohio House majority leader during 1951 and 1952, and as speaker of the House during 1953 and 1954.

Political career

During 1957, Saxbe was elected

Ohio Attorney General The Ohio Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state, State of Ohio in the United States. The office is filled by general election, held every four years. The Ohio Attorney General is Republican Dave Yost. History The office ...

, defeating

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Stephen M. Young. He was re-elected three times and had that office until 1968. In this capacity, Saxbe argued the murder case of Doctor

Sam Sheppard Samuel Holmes Sheppard, Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, D.O. ( – ) was an American Neurosurgery, neurosurgeon. He was exonerated in 1966, having been convicted of the 1954 murder of his pregnant wife, Marilyn Reese Sheppard. The case was con ...

before the United States Supreme Court during 1966, against Sheppard's attorney

F. Lee Bailey Francis Lee Bailey Jr. (June 10, 1933 – June 3, 2021) was an American criminal defense attorney. Bailey's name first came to nationwide attention for his involvement in the second murder trial of Sam Sheppard, a surgeon accused of murdering ...

. He was a member of the Ohio Crime Commission from 1967 to 1968. During 1968, Saxbe was elected to the U.S. Senate, defeating the Democratic candidate, former Ohio Rep. (1965–67)

John J. Gilligan John Joyce “Jack” Gilligan (March 22, 1921 – August 26, 2013) was an American Democratic politician from the state of Ohio who served as a U.S. Representative and as the 62nd governor of Ohio from 1971 to 1975. He was the father of Kathl ...

. During his campaign, he became a prominent supporter of a national health insurance system. When

President Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was t ...

resumed bombing North Vietnam in late 1972, Saxbe stated that the President had 'lost his senses'. He served in the Senate until January 4, 1974, when Nixon appointed him U.S. Attorney General. Saxbe was the permanent replacement for

Elliot Richardson Elliot Lee Richardson (July 20, 1920December 31, 1999) was an American lawyer and public servant who was a member of the cabinet of Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. As U.S. Attorney General, he was a prominent figure in the Watergate ...

, who had been dismissed by Nixon during 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 continual ...

's so-called "

Saturday Night Massacre The Saturday Night Massacre was a series of events that took place in the United States on the evening of Saturday, October 20, 1973, during the Watergate scandal. U.S. President Richard Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire ...

". Saxbe took over from Solicitor General

Robert Bork Robert Heron Bork (March 1, 1927 – December 19, 2012) was an American jurist who served as the solicitor general of the United States from 1973 to 1977. A professor at Yale Law School by occupation, he later served as a judge on the U.S. Court ...

, who had served as acting Attorney General after the "Massacre". There was some minor controversy regarding Saxbe's appointment and the

Ineligibility Clause The Ineligibility Clause (sometimes also called the Emoluments Clause, or the Incompatibility Clause, or the Sinecure Clause) is a provision in Article 1, Section 6, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution that makes each incumbent member o ...

of the Constitution. That provision states that a legislator cannot be appointed to an executive position during the same term that the legislature had voted to increase the salary of said position. Nixon addressed the problem by having Congress reduce the salary of the Attorney General to $35,000, as it was before Saxbe's term in the Senate began. This maneuver had only occurred once before, when Senator

Philander C. Knox Philander Chase Knox (May 6, 1853October 12, 1921) was an American lawyer, bank director and politician. A member of the Republican Party, Knox served in the Cabinet of three different presidents and represented Pennsylvania in the United States ...

had been appointed Secretary of State during 1909, and has since become known as the "

Saxbe fix The Saxbe fix ( ), or salary rollback, is a mechanism by which the President of the United States, in appointing a current or former member of the United States Congress whose elected term has not yet expired, can avoid the restriction of the Uni ...

". Because there was not any perception that anything ''intentional'' had been done to benefit Saxbe, the matter was largely ignored. As Attorney General for Nixon, Saxbe supervised the antitrust suit that ultimately ended the Bell System telephone monopoly. Gilligan, who had been elected

Governor of Ohio A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

during 1970, appointed

Howard Metzenbaum Howard Morton Metzenbaum (June 4, 1917March 12, 2008) was an American politician and businessman who served for almost 20 years as a Democratic member of the U.S. Senate from Ohio (1974, 1976–1995). He also served in the Ohio House ...

to serve Saxbe's vacated term. Later that year, former astronaut

John Glenn John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016) was an American Marine Corps aviator, engineer, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He was the third American in space, and the first American to orbit the Earth, circling ...

, another Democrat, was elected to replace Saxbe. Saxbe served as

U.S. Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

for the first few months of the President

Ford Administration Gerald Ford's tenure as the 38th president of the United States began on August 9, 1974, upon the resignation of Richard Nixon from office, and ended on January 20, 1977, a period of days. Ford, a Republican from Michigan, had served as vice ...

, before resigning in early 1975, when he was appointed

United States Ambassador to India The United States Ambassador to India is the chief diplomatic representative of United States in India. The U.S. Ambassador's office is situated at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi. Chiefs of Mission to India U.S. Ambassadors to the Dominion of ...

. He served in that capacity until 1977. After that, Saxbe returned to Mechanicsburg and resumed the practice of law.

Personal life

During 1940, Saxbe married the former Ardath Louise "Dolly" Kleinhans.West's Encyclopedia of American Law
(accessed February 14, 2010) They had three children: William Bart Saxbe Jr., Juliet Louise "Juli" Saxbe Spitzer, and Charles Rockwell "Rocky" Saxbe. Charles Saxbe served four terms in

, and later as an attorney in private practice. Saxbe was known for his quips. Asked about Sen.

Robert Dole Robert Joseph Dole (July 22, 1923 – December 5, 2021) was an American politician and attorney who represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996. He was the Republican Leader of the Senate during the final 11 years of his t ...

, he commented that Dole was so unpopular with his fellow senators that he "couldn't sell beer on a troop ship". He died in his hometown of Mechanicsburg, Ohio at the age of 94 on August 24, 2010.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saxbe, William B. United States Attorneys General Ambassadors of the United States to India Ohio Attorneys General Speakers of the Ohio House of Representatives Republican Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Ohio State University alumni Ohio State University Moritz College of Law alumni People from Mechanicsburg, Ohio 1916 births 2010 deaths Republican Party United States senators from Ohio Nixon administration cabinet members Ford administration cabinet members 20th-century American politicians American Episcopalians Ohio National Guard personnel United States Army personnel of the Korean War United States Army reservists United States Army colonels