Philip W. Buchen

American attorney

Philip Buchen


White House Counsel
In office August 9, 1974 – January 20, 1977
President	Gerald Ford
Preceded by	Leonard Garment
Succeeded by	Robert Lipshutz

Personal details
Born	Philip William Buchen (1916-02-27)February 27, 1916 Sheboygan, Wisconsin, U.S.
Died	May 21, 2001(2001-05-21) (aged 85) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political party	Republican
Relatives	Gustave W. Buchen (father)
Education	University of Michigan (BA, JD)

Philip William Buchen (February 27, 1916 – May 21, 2001) was an American attorney who served as White House counsel during the Ford Administration.

Early life and education

Buchen was born in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, the son of State Senator Gustave W. Buchen.^[1] In his youth, he contracted polio and thereafter walked with a cane. He graduated from Sheboygan High School in 1935 and attended the University of Michigan, where he met Gerald Ford. At Michigan, he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He received his law degree from the University of Michigan in 1941.^[2]

Career

Buchen opened a law practice in Grand Rapids, Michigan with Ford in May 1941. He continued to practice law in Grand Rapids until 1974, when he came to Washington to serve in the Office of the Vice President of the United States. He served as chief White House counsel with Cabinet rank for the duration of Ford's presidency.^[3]

When Ford left office, Buchen remained in Washington, practicing law with the firm of Dewey Ballantine until 1995. Buchen served on the United States Commission of Fine Arts from 1977 to 1981.^[4]

Personal

Buchen's first marriage ended in divorce. He had a daughter with his second wife, Beatrice (Loomis).^[5]

Buchen died of pneumonia in May 2021.^[5]

External links

Files pertaining to Philip W. Buchen at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum
Interview with Philip Buchen, March 1985

References

^ Zielinski, Graeme (23 May 2001). "Philip Buchen Dies". Washington Post.
^ "Philip W. Buchen". U.S. Commission of Fine Arts. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
^ Jackson, Harold (2001-05-30). "Philip Buchen". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
^ Thomas E. Luebke, ed., Civic Art: A Centennial History of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, 2013): Appendix B, p. 541.
^ ^a ^b Lewis, Paul (May 24, 2001). "Philip W. Buchen, 85, Is Dead; Advised Ford on Nixon Pardon". The New York Times.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Philip W. Buchen.

The National Security Archive "Wiretap Debate Déjà Vu"
Appearances on C-SPAN

Legal offices
Preceded by Leonard Garment	White House Counsel 1974–1977	Succeeded by Robert Lipshutz

White House Counsels

Cabinet of President Gerald Ford (1974–1977)

Cabinet
Vice President	None (1974) Nelson Rockefeller (1974–1977)
Secretary of State	Henry Kissinger (1974–1977)
Secretary of the Treasury	William E. Simon (1974–1977)
Secretary of Defense	James R. Schlesinger (1974–1975) Donald Rumsfeld (1975–1977)
Attorney General	William B. Saxbe (1974–1975) Edward H. Levi (1975–1977)
Secretary of the Interior	Rogers Morton (1974–1975) Stanley K. Hathaway (1975) Thomas S. Kleppe (1975–1977)
Secretary of Agriculture	Earl Butz (1974–1976) John A. Knebel (1976–1977)
Secretary of Commerce	Frederick B. Dent (1974–1975) Rogers Morton (1975–1976) Elliot Richardson (1976–1977)
Secretary of Labor	Peter J. Brennan (1974–1975) John Thomas Dunlop (1975–1976) William Usery Jr. (1976–1977)
Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare	Caspar Weinberger (1974–1975) F. David Mathews (1975–1977)
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	James Thomas Lynn (1974–1975) Carla Anderson Hills (1975–1977)
Secretary of Transportation	Claude Brinegar (1974–1975) William Thaddeus Coleman Jr. (1975–1977)

Cabinet-level
Director of the Office of Management and Budget	Roy Ash (1974–1975) James Thomas Lynn (1975–1977)
Trade Representative	Frederick B. Dent (1975–1977)
Ambassador to the United Nations	John A. Scali (1974–1975) Daniel Patrick Moynihan (1975–1976) William Scranton (1976–1977)
White House Chief of Staff	Donald Rumsfeld (1974–1975) Dick Cheney (1975–1977)
Counselor to the President	Anne L. Armstrong (1974) Dean Burch (1974) Kenneth Rush (1974) Robert T. Hartmann (1974–1977) John Otho Marsh Jr. (1974–1977) Rogers Morton (1976)
White House Counsel	Philip W. Buchen (1974–1977)