Chuck Hagel

Hagel was born in North Platte, Nebraska, a son of Charles Dean Hagel, and his wife Elizabeth (Betty) Dunn. His father was of German heritage, while his mother was of Irish and Polish ancestry. Growing up, Hagel lived across Nebraska; in Ainsworth, Rushville, Scottsbluff, Terrytown, York and Columbus. Hagel was the oldest of four brothers. His father, a veteran of World War II, died suddenly on Christmas morning, 1962, at the age of 39, when Hagel was 16. He graduated from St. Bonaventure High School (now Scotus Central Catholic High School) in Columbus, Nebraska, in 1964, attended Brown Institute for radio and TV through 1966, and earned a BGS degree with a concentration in history from the University of Nebraska Omaha in 1971.

Hagel volunteered to be drafted into the United States Army during the Vietnam War, rejecting a draft board recommendation that he go to college instead. He served in the United States Army infantry in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968. As a sergeant (E-5), he served as an infantry squad leader in the 9th Infantry Division. Hagel served in the same infantry squad as his younger brother Tom, and they are thought to be the only American brothers to have done so during the war. They also saved each other's lives on separate occasions. Hagel received the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, two Purple Hearts, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

After his discharge, he worked as a radio newscaster and talk show host in Omaha from 1969 to 1971 while finishing college on Veterans Administration (VA) assistance under the GI Bill.

In 1971, Hagel was hired as a staffer for Congressman John Y. McCollister (R-NE), serving until 1977. For the next four years, he worked as a lobbyist for Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, and in 1980, he served as an organizer for the successful presidential campaign of former California governor Ronald Reagan.

After Reagan's inauguration as president, Hagel was named deputy administrator of the Veterans Administration. In 1982, however, he resigned over a disagreement with VA Administrator Robert P. Nimmo, who was intent on cutting funding for VA programs. Nimmo had referred to veterans groups as "greedy", and to Agent Orange as not much worse than a "little teenage acne."

After leaving government employment, Hagel co-founded Vanguard Cellular, a mobile phone service carrier that made him a multi-millionaire. While working with Vanguard, he served as president and chief executive officer of the United Service Organizations and the Private Sector Council, as deputy director and chief operating officer of the 1990 G7 Summit, and on the board of directors or advisory committee of the American Red Cross, the Eisenhower World Affairs Institute, Bread for the World, and the Ripon Society. He also served as Chairman of the Agent Orange Settlement Fund and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Although he was pressured by some to run for Governor of Virginia, where he had lived for 20 years, in 1992 Hagel moved back to Nebraska to become president of the McCarthy Group, LLC, an investment banking firm. He also served as a chairman and was CEO of American Information Systems Inc. (AIS), later known as Election Systems & Software, a computerized voting machine manufacturer jointly owned by McCarthy Group, LLC and the Omaha World-Herald company. On March 15, 1995, Hagel resigned from the board of AIS as he intended to run for office. Michael McCarthy, the parent company's founder, was Hagel's campaign treasurer. Until at least 2003, he retained between $1 million and $5 million in stock in Election Systems & Software's parent company, the McCarthy Group.

Hagel has two younger brothers: Thomas, a professor at the University of Dayton School of Law, and Michael, an artist resident in Omaha, Nebraska. Hagel's third brother, James, died in an automobile accident at the age of 16. Hagel was raised in the Roman Catholic faith, but converted to the Episcopal Church.

In 1979, Hagel married Patricia Lloyd. The couple separated in 1981 and divorced a year later. He married his second wife, Lilibet Ziller, in April 1985. The couple have two children together.

While a senator, Hagel had a tradition of wearing costumes to work on Halloween, usually masquerading as one of his colleagues or other notable political figures, including Joe Biden, John McCain, Colin Powell, and Pat Roberts in past years. He gave back a portion of his salary for the 2013 fiscal year in solidarity with his department's workers who were facing 14 days of furloughs.

Hagel is a member of the ReFormers Caucus of Issue One. In October 2022, Hagel joined Issue One's Council for Responsible Social Media project to address the negative mental, civic, and public health impacts of social media in the United States co-chaired by former House Democratic Caucus Leader Dick Gephardt and former Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey.

Endorsement of Senate candidates

In 2010, Hagel endorsed Democratic Pennsylvania congressman Joe Sestak in his run for the United States Senate. In 2012 he endorsed Democrat Bob Kerrey in the race for an open U.S. Senate seat in Nebraska.

Criticism of Bush administration

On August 18, 2005, Hagel compared the Iraq War to Vietnam, and openly mocked Vice President Dick Cheney's assertion that the Iraqi insurgency was in its "last throes." In November 2005, Hagel defended his criticism of the Iraq war, stating "To question your government is not unpatriotic — to not question your government is unpatriotic." In December 2005, in reference to Bush, the Republican Party, and the Patriot Act, Hagel stated "I took an oath of office to the Constitution, I didn't take an oath of office to my party or my president."

In January 2006, Hagel took issue with Karl Rove's statement that the Republican and Democratic worldviews were "post-9/11" and "pre-9/11", respectively. Hagel stated, "I didn't like what Mr. Rove said, because it frames terrorism and the issue of terrorism and everything that goes with it, whether it's the renewal of the Patriot Act or the NSA wiretapping, in a political context."

In July 2006, Hagel criticized the Bush administration on its handling of the 2006 Lebanon War, saying "The sickening slaughter on both sides must end and it must end now. President Bush must call for an immediate cease-fire. This madness must stop." He also said "Our relationship with Israel is special and historic... But it need not and cannot be at the expense of our Arab and Muslim relationships. That is an irresponsible and dangerous false choice."

Following heavy Republican losses in the 2006 midterm election, Hagel penned an editorial in The Washington Post highly critical of military strategies both employed and proposed for Iraq. He wrote that "There will be no victory or defeat for the United States in Iraq," and called for a "phased troop withdrawal." According to a SurveyUSA poll, in August 2006 Hagel had a 10% higher approval rating among Nebraska Democrats than Republicans.

In January 2007, Hagel openly criticized President Bush's plan to send an additional 20,000 troops to Iraq. He called it "the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since Vietnam, if it's carried out." Together with Democrats Joe Biden and Carl Levin, he proposed a non-binding resolution to the Democratic-controlled Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which rejected Bush's policy as "not in the national interest" in a 12–9 vote. After an April 2007 visit to Iraq with U.S. congressman Joe Sestak (D-PA), Hagel stated his belief that the occupation of Iraq should not continue indefinitely and expressed his intention to cooperate with Senate Democrats in voting for a bill that would set a timeline to get out of Iraq.

In November 2007, he rated the Bush administration "the lowest in capacity, in capability, in policy, in consensus—almost every area" of any presidency in the last forty years.