US Presidential Cabinet Secretary. He served as the Secretary of Agriculture under President George H.W. Bush from February 16, 1989 to March 1, 1991. He earned his B.S., J.D., and Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. During this time, he also enlisted in the United States Air Force and the credits he earned under the G.I. Bill in his military tenure helped him to attend graduate school. He continued to serve in the Air Force Reserve until 1977. From 1957 to 1975 he operated a 2,500-acre farming enterprise in central Nebraska. After his degree work, he started his government service as chief of staff to the Governor of Nebraska in 1967. In September of 1968 he left government service to work as the director of the University of Nebraska Mission in Colombia. He stayed in this position until October of 1970 when he went to work at the United States Department of Agriculture. In January 1972 he joined the Nixon re-election campaign and after the election, he rejoined the Agriculture Department. In 1975 he moved over to the position of Deputy Special Trade Representative. After Gerald Ford left the presidency in January 1977, he went into private law practice until early 1978 when he became Presdent and CEO of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. He served in this capacity until June of 1985 when he was named U.S. Trade Representative by President Ronald Reagan. He remained at this post until January of 1989 when he was named the Secretary of Agriculture by the newly elected President Bush. In January of 1991 he left the Agriculture Department to become the chairman of the Republican National Committee. He served as chairman for one year before being named counselor to the President for domestic policy by President Bush. After leaving the government in 1993, he worked in various positions such as private law, holding numerous corporate directorships, and lobbying for an agricultural group. He passed away after a four year battle with colon cancer.