William Haddad

For the lawyer and jurist in Alberta, Canada, seeWilliam J. Haddad.

William Haddad
Born	(1928-07-25)July 25, 1928 Charlotte, North Carolina
Died	April 20, 2020(2020-04-20)(aged 91) Poughquag, New York
Alma mater	Columbia University(BA, MS)
Occupation(s)	political operative, lobbyist, and journalist
Spouses	Kate Roosevelt ​ (divorced)​ Noreen Walsh ​ (divorced)​

William Haddad(July 25, 1928 – April 30, 2020) was an American political operative, lobbyist, and journalist who held a series of high-profile jobs during his lifetime. He is most known for being an aide to theKennedy Family,during which he helped launch thePeace CorpswithR. Sargent Shriver,worked in the1960 presidential campaignofJohn F. Kennedyand the1968 presidential campaignofRobert F. Kennedy.He also assisted prominentDemocratic Partyfigures such asMario CuomoandEstes Kefauverand led the fight for affordable medicine as a lobbyist and businessman.

Early life and education

Haddad was born on July 25, 1928, inCharlotte, North Carolina,to Esther (Nowack) Haddad, a Jewish immigrant from Russia, and Charles Haddad, aSyrian Jew.He graduated fromSt. Petersburg Junior Collegein Florida and received a bachelor’s degree fromColumbia Collegein 1954. He also studied at theColumbia Graduate School of Journalism.

Career

After finishing college, Haddad began a career moving back and forth between business, journalism, and politics. He first worked for SenatorEstes Kefauver(D-NY) from 1954 to 1956 and helped secure his nomination asAdlai Stevenson’s vice-presidential running mate, beating outJohn F. Kennedyat the1956 Democratic National Convention.

He later worked for theNew York Postand helped expose the corruption ofRobert Moses,which led to his eventual downfall.He won aPolk Awardin 1958 and shared another in 1959 for his investigate reporting.

He then took a break from his journalism career and served as special assistant toJohn F. Kennedyduring hispresidential campaign.He also served as an aide toSargent Shriver,with whom he helped found thePeace Corpsand served as its as first associate director and inspector general from 1961 to 1963.

After his stint at the Peace Corps, Haddad returned to work for theNew York Herald Tribune,whose publisher,John Hay Whitney,was his father-in-law.He resigned from the newspaper after spending a few months on the investigative team and unsuccessfully challenged Democratic CongressmanLeonard Farbsteinfor his seat inNew York's 19th congressional district.

After losing the primary, he served as the inspector general for theOffice of Economic Opportunityfrom 1964 to 1966.He advisedRobert F. Kennedyduring his presidential campaign in 1968, served on the Board of Education of New York, and enlisted prominent activistRoy Innisin a newspaper calledThe Manhattan Tribuneto provide abiracialperspective. The paper ceased publications in 1972.

In 1972, Haddad sent a letter to investigative journalistJack Andersonwarning him of a tip-off from a private investigator about a plan by theNixon administrationto wiretap the telephones at theDemocratic National Committee.Anderson was focused on reporting on a separate scandal involving the Attorney General-nomineeRichard Kleindienst's handling of an antitrust suit againstITT Inc.at theJustice Departmentand so did not follow up on the tip. The wiretapping plan eventually led to theWatergate scandaland the political downfall of PresidentRichard Nixon.

In his business career, he joined a venture withJohn DeLoreanin the newly foundedDeLorean Motor Companyin 1979 and served as its marketing director. He left the company after discovering its financial management and published a book,Hard Driving: My Years With John DeLorean,chronicling the rise and fall of their joint venture.

He then served asMario Cuomo's campaign manager and helped his election asGovernor of New Yorkin1982.Afterwards, he began to lobby to reduce theprices of prescription drugsand served as the chairman of the Generic Pharmaceutical Industry Association that was merged into theAssociation for Accessible Medicines.His lobbying was instrumental in the passing of theDrug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Actin 1984, which helped launch thegeneric drugindustry in the United States.He also worked with Indian scientistYusuf HamiedofCiplato distribute low-cost medicine to combatHIV/AIDSinAfricaandIndia.

Personal life

In 1959, Haddad married Kate Roosevelt, daughter of CongressmanJames RooseveltandBetsey Cushing Roosevelt Whitney,granddaughter of PresidentFranklin D. Rooseveltand pioneering neurosurgeonHarvey Cushing.Her mother divorcedJames Rooseveltand was remarried toJohn Hay Whitney,theAmerican Ambassador to the United Kingdom,who adopted Roosevelt as his daughter. The marriage ended in divorce and his second marriage to Noreen Walsh also ended in divorce.

He died on April 30, 2020, due to congestive heart failure.

He is survived by Lulie Haddad, Laura Whitney-Thomas and Andrea Haddad, children from his first marriage, Amanda Reina and Robert Haddad from his second marriage, a stepson, 13 grandchildren, and two great-grandsons.