William Safire Speechwriter for President Nixon Date of Birth: 17.12.1929 Country: USA

1. Biography of William Safire
2. Early Life and Education
3. Early Career
4. Political Career
5. Later Career and Achievements

Biography of William Safire

William Lewis Safire (December 17, 1929 - September 27, 2009) was an American writer, journalist, speechwriter and columnist. He is best known for his extensive career as a political commentator at the 'New York Times' and as the regular host of the 'On Language' section in the 'New York Times Magazine', which focused on popular etymology, new and unusual expressions, and other aspects of the development of the English language.

Early Life and Education

Safire was born into a Jewish family and originally had the surname Safir. He changed his surname to Safire to make it easier for Americans to pronounce, although many of his relatives still use the original variant. He attended the Bronx High School of Science, a specialized educational institution in New York. He later enrolled at Syracuse University but dropped out after two years of study.

Early Career

From 1955 to 1960, Safire worked in public relations. Prior to that, he had worked as a producer in radio and television and had served as a military correspondent in the U.S. Army. He also worked as a publicist for the builder who created a model home for the American exhibition in Sokolniki Park, Moscow, where the famous debate between Nikita Khrushchev and Richard Nixon took place. Safire captured the widely known black and white photograph of this episode.

Political Career

Safire supported Nixon in the 1960 and 1968 presidential elections. After Nixon's victory in 1968, he became his speechwriter and continued in that role during Spiro Agnew's tenure as well. Safire is credited with the memorable phrase coined by Agnew, "nattering nabobs of negativism." In 1973, Safire began writing a political column for the 'New York Times'. He soon became a target of the national security system after stating that he did not work with Nixon due to the latter's excessive paranoia.

Later Career and Achievements

In 1978, Safire received the Pulitzer Prize for his work. He frequently appeared on the NBC program 'Meet the Press'. From 1995, he served as a member of the Pulitzer Prize Board. After retiring from his own column, he became the executive director of the 'Dana Foundation', and in 2000, he became the chairman of the organization. In 2006, Safire was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He passed away on September 27, 2009, at the age of 79, due to pancreatic cancer.