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Chuck Hagel
Senior Senator from Nebraska
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 7, 1997 Serving with Ben Nelson
Preceded by	J. James Exon
Succeeded by	Incumbent
Deputy Administrator of Veteran Affairs
In office 1981 – 1982
President	Ronald Reagan
Born	October 04, 1946 (1946-10-04) (age 61) North Platte, Nebraska
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Lilibet Hagel
Alma mater	University of Nebraska at Omaha
Religion	Episcopalian

Charles Timothy "Chuck" Hagel (born October 4, 1946) is the senior United States Senator from Nebraska. A member of the Republican Party, he was first elected in 1996 and was reelected in 2002. Considered by some as a potential candidate for the 2008 presidential election, Hagel announced on September 10, 2007 that he will retire from the Senate at the end of his present term and will not seek the presidency. ^[1]

Contents 1 Early life and family 2 Career in Washington 3 Business career 4 Senate career 4.1 Criticism of the Bush Administration 5 Retirement 6 Electoral history 7 Awards and honors 8 References 9 External links

Born in North Platte, Nebraska, to Betty and Charles Hagel, who had German and Polish ancestry.^[2] He graduated from St. Bonaventure High School (now Scotus Central Catholic High School) in Columbus, NE, and the Brown Institute for Radio and Television in 1966 and from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 1972. Hagel is a Vietnam War veteran, having served in the U.S. Army infantry, attaining the rank of Sergeant (E-5) from 1967–1968. While serving during the Vietnam War, he received the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal, and the Combat Infantryman Badge. After returning from Vietnam, Hagel worked as a bartender and radio newscaster while finishing college.

Hagel married Lilibet Ziller in 1985; the couple live with their daughter, Allyn, and son, Ziller, in Great Falls, Virginia.^[3]

Hagel's brother, Thomas, is a professor at the University of Dayton School of Law.

In 1971, Hagel was hired as a staffer for Congressman John Y. McCollister (R-NE), serving until 1977. For the next four years, he worked as a lobbyist for Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, and, in 1980, he served as an organizer for the successful presidential campaign of former California Governor Ronald Reagan.

After Reagan's inauguration as President, Hagel was named deputy administrator of the Veterans Administration. In 1982, however, he resigned his post over a disagreement with V.A. Administrator Robert P. Nimmo, who was intent on cutting funding for V.A. programs, and who had referred to veterans groups as "greedy", and to Agent Orange as not much worse than a "little teenage acne."^{[citation needed]}

After leaving government employment, Hagel co-founded Vanguard Cellular, a mobile phone manufacturer that made him a millionaire several times over. While working with Vanguard, he served as president and chief executive officer of the United Service Organizations and the Private Sector Council, as deputy director and chief operating officer of the 1990 G7 Summit, and on the board of directors or advisory committee of the American Red Cross, the Eisenhower World Affairs Institute, Bread for the World, and the Ripon Society. He also served as Chairman of the Agent Orange Settlement Fund and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Although he was pressured by some to run for Governor of Virginia, where he had lived for 20 years, in 1992 Hagel moved back to Nebraska to become president of the McCarthy Group, an investment banking firm. He also served as CEO of American Information Systems Inc. (AIS), a voting machine manufacturer, which changed its name to Election Systems & Software (ES&S) in 1997.

In 2007 Senator Hagel attended a meeting organized by the American Iranian Council which brought together numerous national and international policy makers in an attempt to improve their understanding of Iran's role in Iraq and its nuclear enrichment intentions/capabilities. Others in attendance at this meeting were Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), Ambassador Javad Zarif from Iran 's UN Mission, Ambassador Anders Lidén from Sweden , Mr. Nicholas Kristof from the New York Times, and a host of other distinguished academics, businessmen, nonprofit representatives and private citizens.

In 1996, Chuck Hagel ran for the US Senate against Ben Nelson, who was the sitting governor of Nebraska. Although many people believed he had no chance of winning, he won a "stunning upset" in the election, receiving 56% of the vote (Nelson was later elected to Nebraska's other Senate seat, in 2000). During his first campaign, Hagel indicated that, were he to be elected, he would retire in 2008 after two terms in the Senate. [3] Six years later in 2002, Hagel overwhelmingly won re-election with over 83% of the vote, the largest margin of victory in any statewide race in Nebraska history.

Since his election to the Senate in 1996, Hagel has served as deputy whip for the Republican Caucus. He has been chair of both the Senate Global Climate Change Observer Group and the Senate Oversight Task Force. He serves as co-chairman of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. He also serves on the NATO Observer Group. Hagel is a member of four Senate committees: Foreign Relations; Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; the Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on Rules and Administration.

In August 2004, Hagel acknowledged that he was considering a presidential campaign in 2008.

Hagel appeared as himself on the HBO series K Street in 2003, on the episode entitled "Week Four."

On immigration, Senator Hagel supports a "pathway to citizenship" and a "guest worker program" for illegal immigrants, which opponents call an amnesty. On May 25, 2006 he voted for S. 2611, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006, which passed the Senate before reaching a stalemate in the House in late 2006.

On June 26, Hagel joined with Senator Ted Kennedy to support the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 (S. 1639.

Due to displeasure over Hagel's stance on the war, Nebraska State Attorney General Jon Bruning has planned to challenge him in the primaries in 2008 should he not step down, or simply run outright if Hagel enters the 2008 presidential race.

In July 2007, Hagel was one of three Republican Senators who supported the legislation proposed by Democrats to require a troop withdrawal to begin within 120 days. "This thing is really coming undone quickly, and [Prime Minister] Maliki's government is weaker by the day. The police are corrupt, top to bottom. The oil problem is a huge problem. They still can't get anything through the parliament -- no hydrocarbon law, no de-Baathification law, no provincial elections," [Rovert Novac Inteview with Hagel published in the Washington Post" "Hagels Stand".]

The New York Times reported on Saturday, September 8, 2007 that Hagel would retire from the Senate at the conclusion of his present term.^[4]

Hagel has a tradition of wearing costumes to work on Halloween, usually masquerading as colleagues or other notable political figures. He has arrived at work dressed as Joe Biden, John McCain, Colin Powell, and Pat Roberts in past years.^[5]

On August 18, 2005, Hagel compared the Iraq War to Vietnam and openly mocked Vice President Dick Cheney's assertion that the Iraqi insurgency was in its "last throes."^[6]

In November 2005, Hagel made a much-publicized statement: "To question your government is not unpatriotic — to not question your government is unpatriotic." This was in reference to the increasing amount of debate surrounding the Iraq War, and his assertion that the United States should withdraw its troops.

In December 2005, in reference to Bush, the GOP, and the PATRIOT Act, Hagel made a much-publicized statement: "I took an oath of office to the Constitution, I didn't take an oath of office to my party or my president."^[7]

In January 2006, Hagel took issue with Karl Rove over controversial statements the White House advisor made concerning the mindset of Republicans and Democrats. Hagel said, "Well, I didn't like what Mr. Rove said, because it frames terrorism and the issue of terrorism and everything that goes with it, whether it's the renewal of the Patriot Act or the NSA wiretapping, in a political context." He also said that "dark clouds" are hanging over the Republican party", and "If you look at the environment and the atmospherics politically in this town, read any poll. The sixth year of a governing party usually ... is not good ... the country is tired, a lot of complications in these international issues, we're at war."^[8]

Hagel further criticized the Bush administration, saying, "National security is more important than the Republican Party or the Democratic Party. And to use it to try and get someone elected will ultimately end up in defeat and disaster for that political party."^[8]

In July 2006, Hagel again took issue with the Bush administration, this time on its handling of the Israel-Lebanon issue saying "The sickening slaughter on both sides must end and it must end now. President Bush must call for an immediate cease-fire. This madness must stop."^[9]

After Republican losses in the 2006 midterm election, Hagel penned an editorial in the Washington Post highly critical of military strategies both employed and proposed for Iraq. He unequivocally declared that "There will be no victory or defeat for the United States in Iraq," and called for a "phased troop withdrawal"—making Hagel one of the most prominent voices in his party to do so.^[10]

According to a SurveyUSA poll, Hagel has a 10% higher approval rating among Nebraska Democrats than Republicans.^[11][12] OnTheIssues.org rates Hagel as a "libertarian-leaning conservative."

In January 2007, Hagel openly criticized President Bush's plan to send an additional 20,000 additional troops to Iraq. He called it, "the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since Vietnam, if it's carried out."^[13]

Together with Democrats Joseph Biden and Carl Levin he proposed a non-binding resolution to the Democratic-controlled Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which rejected Bush's policy as "not in the national interest" in a 12-9 vote.^[14] However, in a Senate vote of 94-2 to revoke executive power to replace federal prosecutors without a preliminary hearing, Senator Hagel and Senator Kit Bond were the only opposition.^[15]

After an April 2007 visit to Iraq with Pennsylvania Democratic Representative Joe Sestak, Hagel expressed his belief that support of Iraq should not continue indefinitely and defended Congressional actions to set a timeline for an end in occupation.

In July 2007, Hagel expressed his intention to cooperate with Senate Democrats in voting for a bill that would set a timeline to get out of Iraq.^[16]

In November 2007, he rated the Bush administration "the lowest in capacity, in capability, in policy, in consensus -- almost every area" of any presidency in the last forty years. He also revealed he is open to running as vice-president with the 2008 Democratic nominee.^[17] In the same month, he said, ""I have to say this is one of the most arrogant, incompetent administrations I've ever seen or ever read about. They have failed the country."^[18]

On September 10, 2007, Hagel announced that he would be retiring from the Senate at the end of his term in 2009.^[19] The announcement ended speculation regarding a possible bid for the presidency in 2008.

Republican primary for U.S. Senate from Nebraska, 1996^[20]

• Chuck Hagel - 108,612 (62.11%)
• Don Stenberg - 65,753 (37.60%)
• Write-ins - 498 (0.29%)

Nebraska United States Senate election, 1996^[21]

• Chuck Hagel (R) - 379,933 (56.12%)
• Ben Nelson (D) - 281,904 (41.64%)
• John W. DeCamp (Libertarian) - 9,483 (1.40%)
• Bill Dunn (Natural Law) - 4,806 (0.71%)
• Write-ins - 832 (0.12%)

Republican primary for U.S. Senate from Nebraska, 2002^[22]

• Chuck Hagel (inc.) - 144,160 (100.00%) - unopposed

Nebraska United States Senate election, 2002^[23]

• Chuck Hagel (R) (inc.) - 397,438 (82.76%)
• Charlie Matulka (D) - 70,290 (14.64%)
• Jack Graziano (Libertarian) - 7,423 (1.55%)
• Phil Chase (Independent) - 5,066 (1.06%)

Hagel is a Nebraska Admiral, an honorary title. On June 9, 2007, he gave the commencement address for North Central College and was given a honorary LL.D..^[24]

• Charlyne Berens. Chuck Hagel: Moving Forward (U. of Nebraska Press, 2006), biography

Official sites

• United States Senator Chuck Hagel, U.S. Senate site
  • Speech on U.S.-Iran Relations, Senate Speeches, U.S. Government, February 22, 2007
• Sandhills PAC Hagel's Political Action Committee

Documentaries, topic pages and databases

• Chuck Hagel's biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Chuck Hagel's voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Chuck Hagel's campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Chuck Hagel's campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Chuck Hagel's biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Chuck Hagel's issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• New York Times — Chuck Hagel News news stories and commentary
• Moving Forward authorized biography by Charlyne Berens, book information from University of Nebraska Press ISBN 0803210752

Media coverage

• Hagel low on cash on hand, raising retirement issue, The Hill, January 30, 2007
• Joseph Lelyveld, "The Heartland Dissident", New York Times Magazine, February 12, 2006
• Chuck Hagel: A Christmas Present, and Past, Washington Post, December 22, 2005
• Interview C-SPAN Q&A, November 13, 2005
• Hagel’s ethics filings pose disclosure issue, The Hill, January 29, 2003

Grassroots campaigns

• Blogspot: Chuck Hagel for President unofficial campaign site on Blogspot
• Draft Hagel 08 grassroots presidential draft site
• Michigan for Hagel 2008 unofficial Michigan campaign site on Blogspot
• Students for Hagel unofficial students' campaign site on Blogspot

United States Senate
Preceded by J. James Exon	United States Senator (Class 2) from Nebraska 1997 – present Served alongside: Bob Kerrey, Ben Nelson	Incumbent

v • d • e United States Senators from Nebraska
Class 1: Tipton • Paddock • Van Wyck • Paddock • Allen • Hayward • Allen • Dietrich • Burkett • G. Hitchcock • Howell • Thompson • Hunter • Burke • Butler • Reynolds • Hruska • Zorinsky • Karnes • Kerrey • Nelson Class 2: Thayer • P. Hitchcock • Saunders • Manderson • Thurston • Millard • Brown • Norris • Wherry • Seaton • Griswold • Bowring • Abel • Curtis • Exon • Hagel

Nebraska's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators	Chuck Hagel (R), Ben Nelson (D)
Representative(s)	Jeff Fortenberry (R), Lee Terry (R), Adrian Smith (R)
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v • d • e Current members of the United States Senate
AL: Shelby (R), Sessions (R) AK: Stevens (R), Murkowski (R) AZ: McCain (R), Kyl (R) AR: Lincoln (D), Pryor (D) CA: Feinstein (D), Boxer (D) CO: Allard (R), Salazar (D) CT: Dodd (D), Lieberman (I) DE: Biden (D), Carper (D) FL: Nelson (D), Martinez (R) GA: Chambliss (R), Isakson (R) HI: Inouye (D), Akaka (D) ID: Craig (R), Crapo (R) IL: Durbin (D), Obama (D) IN: Lugar (R), Bayh (D) IA: Grassley (R), Harkin (D) KS: Brownback (R), Roberts (R) KY: McConnell (R), Bunning (R) LA: Landrieu (D), Vitter (R) ME: Snowe (R), Collins (R) MD: Mikulski (D), Cardin (D) MA: Kennedy (D), Kerry (D) MI: Levin (D), Stabenow (D) MN: Coleman (R), Klobuchar (D) MS: Cochran (R), Vacant MO: Bond (R), McCaskill (D) MT: Baucus (D), Tester (D) NE: Hagel (R), Nelson (D) NV: Reid (D), Ensign (R) NH: Gregg (R), Sununu (R) NJ: Lautenberg (D), Menendez (D) NM: Domenici (R), Bingaman (D) NY: Schumer (D), Clinton (D) NC: Dole (R), Burr (R) ND: Conrad (D), Dorgan (D) OH: Voinovich (R), Brown (D) OK: Inhofe (R), Coburn (R) OR: Wyden (D), Smith (R) PA: Specter (R), Casey (D) RI: Reed (D), Whitehouse (D) SC: Graham (R), DeMint (R) SD: Johnson (D), Thune (R) TN: Alexander (R), Corker (R) TX: Hutchison (R), Cornyn (R) UT: Hatch (R), Bennett (R) VT: Leahy (D), Sanders (I) VA: Warner (R), Webb (D) WA: Murray (D), Cantwell (D) WV: Byrd (D), Rockefeller (D) WI: Kohl (D), Feingold (D) WY: Enzi (R), Barrasso (R)
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