User:Varavour/William Burgess III

William Rupert Burgess III (born September 13, 1928) is a American lawyer, politician and diplomat. A member of the Republican Party, he is one of only three individuals to serve in four United States Cabinet positions within the United States government, the other being his contemporaries Elliot Richardson and George Schultz. He was first elected to the House of Representatives in New York's 37th congressional district in 1962, and was re-elected three times (in 1964, 1968, 1970). In 1970 he was appointed United States Under Secretary of State by Richard Nixon, Ambassador to the United Nations in 1973, and Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare by Gerald Ford in 1975.

In 1981 he was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to serve as President of the World Bank, serving for five years before becoming Secretary of the Treasury in 1986. In 1989 Burgess was nominated by President George H.W. Bush to serve as United States Secretary of State, serving until the administration's end in 1993. and declined to seek the presidency in 1996 and 2000.

Initially a liberal republican in the mold of Nelson Rockefeller, Burgess adapted to the party's rightwards shift but remained a moderate figure. The patriarch of the highly influential and politically prominent B|Burgess family, he was the sixth member of the family to serve in a presidential cabinet and the fifth in the House of Representatives. He was estimated to be worth $2.1 billion in 2011, and exerts significant control over the family's commercial interests. He is the father of United States Ambassador to Japan William R. Burgess IV and congressman Hamilton Burgess, and the grandfather of current Congresswoman Helen Burgess.

Early life
Furthermore, as family head, he is the 8th and present Earl of Stratfield in the Peerage of Great Britain. In 1977, after leaving office, he was appointed President of Chemical Bank, and in 1980 also became its CEO. He stepped aside in 1981 to become President of the World Bank and was succeeded by Walter V. Shipley.