Weinberger, Caspar

Weinberger, Caspar (Willard)

(1917– ) lawyer, cabinet member; born in San Francisco. A California corporate lawyer (1947–69), he became Office of Management and Budget director (1970–73) and Nixon's secretary of health, education, and welfare (1973–75). President of Bechtel Power Company (1975–80), he returned as Reagan's secretary of defense (1981–87), championing costly defense systems. Returning to the law, he was indicted in 1992 for abetting the Iran-Contra arms deals.