Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld dies

Donald Rumsfeld served as defense secretary under two presidential administrations and ran for president. He died on Tuesday at the age of 88.

Who was Rumsfeld? He became the youngest person to serve as defense secretary at age 43 under then-President Gerald Ford. After years working in the private sector, he returned to the position in 2001 at age 68, this time under President George W. Bush, as the oldest person to fill the job. Rumsfeld also spent time as a Republican congressman from Illinois and head of the Office of Economic Opportunity under Nixon. During his second stint at the helm of the Defense Department, Rumsfeld attempted to modernize the military and fight wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Under mounting criticism, he resigned in 2006.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, read Lynn Vincent’s report about Rumsfeld’s resignation.