Уильям Френч Смит: АҚШ-тың Бас Прокуроры

American politician

the Attorney General of the United States

William French Smith II (August 26, 1917 – October 29, 1990) was an American lawyer and the 74th United States Attorney General. After attaining his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1942, Smith went on to join the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP in 1946. Smith became acquainted with California governor candidate Ronald Reagan in 1966, after which Reagan appointed him to the University of California Board of Regents. Smith was nominated for U. S. Attorney General shortly after Reagan's victory in the 1980 United States presidential election, assuming the title on January 23, 1981, and serving until February 25, 1985. Smith contributed to Reagan's administration by supporting his stances on welfare, crime, bail, prison sentencing for gun related crimes, the Internal Revenue Service, immigration, corporate mergers, anti competitive practices, the Freedom of Information Act, and illegal drug trade. After his tenure as Attorney General, Smith went back to work for Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. On October 29, 1990, Smith died from cancer.

Smith was born in Wilton, New Hampshire, on August 26, 1917, and raised in Boston. He received his B. A. degree in economics, summa cum laude, from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1939, and his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1942. Smith was a direct descendant of Urian Oakes, a 17th century Harvard College president. His father of the same name was president of Boston based Mexican Telephone and Telegraph Co. From 1942 to 1946, Smith served in the United States Naval Reserve, reaching the rank of lieutenant. In 1946 he joined the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP in Los Angeles. He met Ronald Reagan before his 1966 campaign for governor, and eventually became a close friend and a member of Reagan's "kitchen cabinet" of advisers. In 1968, Reagan appointed him to the University of California Board of Regents. He later served three terms as chairman.

After leaving office, Smith rejoined the powerful law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in Los Angeles. He also served on the boards of major corporations and was named chairman of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Foundation, where he was instrumental in locating site for the attraction. He is remembered as a quiet, yet effective statesman. In the words of National Review, "Smith seldom spoke, but when he did, he was always worth hearing. No one had an ill word to say about him, so great was his decency the quality he had most in common, perhaps, with the man he served so long."

The Tower Commission was commissioned on November 26, 1986, by U. S. President Ronald Reagan in response to the Iran–Contra affair. Reagan appointed Republican and former Senator John Tower of Texas, former Secretary of State Edmund Muskie, and former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft.

Smith died of cancer in Los Angeles on October 29, 1990, age 73, at the Kenneth Norris Jr. Cancer Center. Reagan said of Smith, "Our nation was indeed fortunate to have a person of his excellence and patriotism in the cabinet. And we were made better as a country because of Bill's work. More than a colleague, Bill was a valued and trusted friend and adviser. I often sought his wise counsel throughout my years in public life, and I was fortunate to have him at my side." He was interred November 1 at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. A one hour memorial funeral service, attended by 250 people, was held on November 2 at the Community Church of San Marino, where he was eulogized by Reagan and others. "Bill believed firmly in limited government and keeping government as close to the people as possible", said United States Solicitor General Kenneth W. Starr in his eulogy. Smith had three sons and one daughter with his first wife, Marion. His second wife, Jean Webb Vaughan Smith, who championed volunteerism as national president of the Association of Junior Leagues, died in 2012, aged 93.

In 1992, independent presidential candidate Ross Perot considered naming Smith, "who'd been dead for a couple of years," as his vice presidential running mate, according to Perot's campaign manager Ed Rollins.