Anthony Principi

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Anthony Joseph Principi
4th United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs
In office January 23, 2001 – January 26, 2005
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Togo D. West, Jr. Hershel W. Gober, act.
Succeeded by	Jim Nicholson
Acting United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs
In office September 26, 1992 – January 20, 1993
President	George H. W. Bush
Preceded by	Ed Derwinski
Succeeded by	Jesse Brown
Born	April 16, 1944 (1944-04-16) (age 64) New York City
Political party	Republican

Anthony Joseph Principi (born April 16, 1944) was the 4th United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs. He was nominated by President George W. Bush on December 29, 2000, and was confirmed by the Senate on January 23, 2001. Principi submitted his resignation in a letter dated November 16, 2004, saying he would leave office once his successor was confirmed by the Senate.

Bush nominated Jim Nicholson to replace Principi. Nicholson was confirmed on January 26, 2005. After leaving Veterans Affairs, Principi announced that he would take over the Washington, D.C. office of the pharmaceutical company Pfizer.

Prior to his nomination, Mr. Principi was president of QTC Medical Services, Inc., a group of professional service companies providing independent medical examinations and administration. During the past decade, he was senior vice president at Lockheed Martin IMS, and a partner in the San Diego, California law firm of Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps.

A combat-decorated Vietnam veteran, Mr. Principi has worked on national policy issues and has held several executive-level positions in federal government throughout his career. He chaired the Federal Quality Institute in 1991 and was chairman of the Commission on Servicemembers and Veterans Transition Assistance established by the United States Congress in 1996.[1]

Mr. Principi served as Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs, VA's second-highest executive position, from March 17, 1989, to September 26, 1992, when he was named Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs by President George H. W. Bush. He served in that position until January 1993. Following that appointment, he served as Republican chief counsel and staff director of the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services.

From 1984 to 1988, he served as Republican chief counsel and staff director of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. He was the Veterans Administration's assistant deputy administrator for congressional and public affairs from 1983 to 1984, following three years as counsel to the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Mr. Principi is a 1967 graduate of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, and first saw active duty aboard the destroyer USS Joseph P. Kennedy. He later commanded a River Patrol Unit in Vietnam's Mekong Delta.

Mr. Principi earned his Juris Doctor degree from Seton Hall in 1975 and was assigned to the United States Navy's Judge Advocate General Corps in San Diego, California. In 1980, he was transferred to Washington as a legislative counsel for the Department of the Navy.

[edit] Political Controversy

On March 29, 2008 it was reported in the Los Angeles Times that, "The California company headed by former Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony J. Principi overcharged the agency some $6 million under a long-term contract to conduct physical evaluations on veterans applying for disability benefits" in a recent government audit.^[1]

[edit] Notes

"Veterans Affairs was overcharged about $6 million, audit finds", LA Times, 2008-03-29. 

Government offices
Preceded by Hershel W. Gober (acting)	United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs Served Under: George W. Bush 2001–2005	Succeeded by Jim Nicholson
Preceded by Ed Derwinski	United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs (acting) 1992 – 1993	Succeeded by Jesse Brown

v • d • e United States Secretaries of Veterans Affairs Derwinski • Brown • West • Gober (acting) • Principi • Nicholson • Peake

v • d • e Cabinet of President George W. Bush (2001 – 2009) Vice President Dick Cheney (2001 – present) Secretary of State Colin Powell (2001 – 2005) • Condoleezza Rice (2005 – present) Secretary of the Treasury Paul O'Neill (2001 – 2002) • John W. Snow (2002 – 2006) • Henry Paulson (2006 – present) Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (2001 – 2006) • Robert Gates (2006 – present) Attorney General John Ashcroft (2001 – 2005) • Alberto Gonzales (2005 – 2007) • Michael Mukasey (2007 – present) Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton (2001 – 2006) • Dirk Kempthorne (2006 – present) Secretary of the Agriculture Ann Veneman (2001 – 2005) • Mike Johanns (2005 – 2007) • Ed Schafer (2008 – present) Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans (2001 – 2005) • Carlos Gutierrez (2005 – present) Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao (2001 – present) Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson (2001 – 2005) • Mike Leavitt (2005 – present) Secretary of Education Rod Paige (2001 – 2005) • Margaret Spellings (2005 – Present) Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Mel Martinez (2001 – 2003) • Alphonso Jackson (2003 – 2008) • Steve Preston (2008 – present) Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta (2001 – 2006) • Mary Peters (2006 – present) Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham (2001 – 2005) • Samuel Bodman (2005 – present) Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi (2001 – 2005) • Jim Nicholson (2005 – 2007) • James Peake (2007 – present) Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge (2003 – 2005) • Michael Chertoff (2005 – present) Chief of Staff Andrew Card (2001 – 2006) • Joshua Bolten (2006 – present) Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Christine Todd Whitman (2001 – 2003) • Mike Leavitt (2003 – 2005) • Stephen Johnson (2005 – present) Director of the Office of Management and Budget Mitch Daniels (2001 – 2003) • Joshua Bolten (2003 – 2006) • Rob Portman (2006 – 2007) • Jim Nussle (2007 – present) Director of National Drug Control Policy John Walters (2001 – present)

Persondata
NAME	Principi, Anthony
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Principi, Anthony Joseph
SHORT DESCRIPTION	4th United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs
DATE OF BIRTH	April 16, 1944
PLACE OF BIRTH	New York City, United States
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH