# Paul Ignatius

Paul Robert Ignatius (born November 11, 1920) is an American government official who served as Secretary of the Navy between 1967 and 1969 and was the Assistant Secretary of Defense during the Lyndon Johnson Administration. He is currently the oldest-living former U.S. government official.

## Life and career

Ignatius was born in 1920 in Glendale, California, the son of Armenian parents who migrated to the United States, Elisa (née Jamgochian; Armenian: Ժամկոչեան) and Hovsep "Joseph" B. Ignatius (original last name – Ignatosian; Armenian: Իգնատոսեան). Ignatius' ancestors came from the historic Armenian settlement of Agin near Kharpert. Ignatius is a trustee of the George C. Marshall Foundation and member of the Federal City Council and the Washington Institute of Foreign Affairs. He has served previously as cofounder and chairman of the board of trustees for Logistics Management Institute; chairman, president and CEO of Air Transport Association; president of The Washington Post newspaper and executive vice president of The Washington Post Company; Secretary of the Navy; Assistant Secretary of Defense (Installations and Logistics), Under Secretary of the Army, and Assistant Secretary of the Army (Installations and Logistics).
While serving as Secretary of the Navy, he presented the Congressional Medal of Honor to Captain William Loren McGonagle for the heroism he demonstrated during the 1967 USS Liberty incident. McGonagle's Medal of Honor was not presented to him by the President of the United States in a public ceremony at the White House, as is customary, but was instead presented at the Washington Navy Yard. This is the only time in history it has been done this way. At the time of the ceremony, President Lyndon B. Johnson was in the East Room of the White House overseeing the graduation of high school students from Capitol Page School. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Thomas H. Moorer, a longtime Liberty advocate, was also in attendance. Moorer explained the award was presented in this manner because the attack on the USS Liberty had been covered-up by the incumbent presidential administration.
He founded Harbridge House, Inc., a Boston management consulting and research firm. Ignatius received his bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California (Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Tau) and his MBA degree from Harvard Business School. He served as a commissioned lieutenant in the U.S. Navy in World War II, principally as an aviation ordnance officer aboard escort aircraft carrier USS Manila Bay (CVE-61) in the Pacific. He has two sons and two daughters. David Ignatius is a columnist for The Washington Post, and a novelist. Adi Ignatius is editor-in-chief of Harvard Business Review. Both daughters, Sarah and Amy, have practiced law. Amy Ignatius is a Superior Court Judge in New Hampshire. Sarah Ignatius has worked for decades as a non-profit executive director.

## Personal life

He married Nancy Weiser Sharpless (1925–2019) in 1947. They had four children, including David and Adi. He turned 100 on November 11, 2020. He currently lives in Washington D.C.

## Legacy

On May 23, 2013, the Navy announced that an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, USS Paul Ignatius (DDG-117) would be named for him. It was commissioned at Port Everglades, Florida on July 27, 2019.