West, Togo D. (Togo Dennis), 1942-2018

<p>Togo D. West Jr., attorney and government official, was born on June 21, 1942 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina to Togo D. West, Sr. and Evelyn Carter West. In 1959 he graduated as valedictorian from Atkins High School in that same city. In 1965, West enrolled at Howard University, earning his B.S. degree in electrical engineering. He switched to law and earned a J.D. degree from Howard University Law School in 1968, graduating first in his class. After he completed law school, West clerked for a federal judge in the Southern district of New York.</p>

<p>During the early 1970s, West served in the United States Army as a judge in the Judge Advocate General Corps. For his outstanding military service, West earned both the Legion of Merit award and the Meritorious Service Medal. Government officials recognized West’s distinguished military service and in 1973, he was appointed by President Gerald Ford as Deputy Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice. In 1977, President Jimmy Carter appointed West as general counsel to the Navy and in 1979, West served as Deputy Secretary to the Secretary of Defense and general counsel to the Department of Defense from 1980 to 1981.</p>

<p>In 1981, West retired from government to become managing partner of the Washington, D.C. law firm, Patterson, Belknap, Webb, and Tyler. In 1990, West became the senior vice president for the Arlington, Virginia-based Northrop Corporation, a military aircraft manufacturer.</p>

<p>Togo Dennis West Jr. (June 21, 1942 – March 8, 2018) was an American attorney and public official. A Democrat, he was the third person to occupy the post of Secretary of Veterans Affairs during the Bill Clinton administration serving from 1998 until his resignation in 2000. He was the second African American to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs.</p>

<p>West was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where he became an Eagle Scout with Bronze Palms, and attended Atkins High School (where his parents were teachers), graduating as valedictorian in 1959.</p>

<p>He subsequently entered Howard University, obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering in 1965. He received his Juris Doctor degree from the Howard University School of Law in 1968, receiving cum laude honors and graduating first in his class.</p>

<p>Togo D. West, Jr. had a long career in the executive branch of the federal government. In the administration of President Bill Clinton, he served as Secretary of the Army from 1993 to 1998, during a time of transition in the military with the end of the Cold War and the first Gulf War. President Clinton then appointed him Secretary of Veterans Affairs, a position he held from 1998 until 2000. West was associate deputy attorney general in the Ford administration (1975-1977) and held several posts in the administration of Jimmy Carter: general counsel to the Navy (1977-1979), special assistant to the secretary and to the deputy secretary of defense (1979), and general counsel to the Department of Defense (1980-1981).</p>

<p>Born in 1942 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, West attended Howard University, where he earned an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering in 1965 and a law degree in 1968. After completing law school, he clerked for Judge Harold R. Tyler Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.</p>

<p>He was then called up for active duty in the Army's Judge Advocate General Corps in 1969. From 1969 to 1973, West worked in that office and in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs. West practiced law privately with the firm of Covington and Burling from 1973 to 1975 and again from 1976 to 1977.</p>

<p>After working with the Carter administration, West spent nine years as managing partner of the law firm Belknap, Webb & Tyler (1981-1990). He then worked as senior vice president for government relations of the Northrop Corporation until he became a member of the Clinton administration.</p>

<p>Former United States Secretary of the Army and former United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs Togo Dennis West, Jr. was born on June 21, 1942 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina to Togo D. West, Sr. and Evelyn E. Carter West. His grandmother named him after Japanese Admiral Heihachiro Togo, hero of 1905’s Russo-Japanese War. West grew up in East Winston, North Carolina where his mother was a teacher and his father was the principal of Atkins High School. West attended Atkins High School, graduating in 1959 as a member of the National Honor Society, valedictorian and an Eagle Scout with Bronze Palm. In 1965, he earned his B.S. degree from Howard University and worked briefly as an electrical engineer. West entered Howard University Law School and in 1967 worked as a legal intern for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. West became managing editor of the Howard Law Journal and graduated first in his class with his J.D. degree in 1968.</p>

<p>After clerking for Harold R. Tyler, Jr., a federal district court judge, West was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Army. West served in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps where he was recognized with the Legion of Merit and the Meritorious Service Medal. He subsequently practiced law with Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C. before being appointed associate deputy attorney general by President Gerald Ford in 1975. West served in several capacities in President Jimmy Carter’s administration including general counsel to the Navy from 1977 to 1979; special assistant to the secretary and to the deputy secretary of defense in 1979; and general counsel to the United States Department of Defense from 1980 to 1981. He returned to private practice as managing partner at Patterson, Belknap, Webb and Tyler and later served as senior vice president for government relations with Northrop Corporation. In 1993, West was appointed United States Secretary of the Army by President Bill Clinton. In 1998, President Clinton appointed West as United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs. West succeeded Eddie Williams as president and CEO of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies in 2004. In 2006, he founded TLI Leadership Group and served as its Chairman.</p>

<p>West was the recipient of numerous honors including being named Distinguished Eagle Scout in 1995. He later received scouting’s coveted Silver Buffalo Award and the Silver Beaver Award for his work with youth. West was married to the former Gail Berry.</p>