WASHINGTON – Alexander Haig, a former Army general who became White House chief of staff during the Watergate scandal and secretary of state during the Reagan administration, died on Saturday at the age of 85.
Haig sought the US presidency, but his bid for the Republican nomination ended in failure in 1988, a campaign noted for his acerbic taunting of other candidates including Vice President George HW Bush, the eventual winner.A spokesman for Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore said Haig died early on Saturday from a staph infection acquired prior to his arrival at the hospital.President Barack Obama, a Democrat, praised Haig on Saturday as a ‘great American’ who served the United States with distinction. ‘General Haig exemplified our finest warrior-diplomat tradition of those who dedicate their lives to public service,’ Obama said in a statement.’Our thoughts and prayers are with his family,’ he added.Haig secured a place in American history by holding the presidency together in 1974 during the months leading up to Richard Nixon’s resignation in the Watergate scandal. – Nampa- Reuters
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