Former Defense Secretary Les Aspin, who drew political fire that contributed to his departure from the Pentagon, died after suffering a massive stroke. He was 56.
Aspin, an 11-term congressman who looked more like the rumpled professor he had been than like the military leader that he became, was praised by his president and his successor as a strategic intellectual."Les Aspin was unique. He brought the light of his joy in living, and the heat of his intellect, to every occasion. He never met a
person who didn't like him. And we will all miss him," President Clinton said in a statement.
Aspin was Clinton's first defense secretary. After he resigned in December 1993, he was replaced by his deputy, William Perry.
Perry called Aspin's death "a loss to the nation, a loss to the men and women of the U.S. military and a loss to me personally. The nation has lost a strong strategic thinker and I have lost a valued friend."
Former Defense Secretary Melvin Laird called Aspin "a great congressman, an outstanding national security strategist and a wonderful friend."
At the time of his death, he was the head of Clinton's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board.
Michael Tebo, a spokesman for Georgetown University Medical Center, said Aspin died at 7:55 p.m. Sunday at the hospital.
He was "awake and lucid and speaking" when he was admitted, but his doctors "saw early that it was going to be difficult," his cardiologist, Dr. David Pearle, said in a telephone interview.
"This was a very sudden thing," said Pearle. He said Aspin had been "doing very well" with an "underlying heart disease that's been treated for years." He said doctors suspected that the stroke was related to Aspin's heart condition, and an autopsy was planned.
Pearle said Aspin's ex-wife, Maureen, brother, Jim, and close companion of many years, Sharon Sarton of Lake Geneva, Wis., were with him when he died. Aspin and his wife were divorced in 1979 and had no children.
The doctor said Aspin was paralyzed on his left side when he arrived at the hospital Saturday morning, and tests showed it was a large stroke.
"We had to use a breathing tube Saturday night and medication to try to reduce the swelling of the brain, but by this morning it was pretty clear that his chances of survival were small," Pearle said.
A Wisconsin congressman for 22 years, Aspin was chairman of the House Armed Services Committee when Clinton nominated him to be defense secretary.
But his time at the helm was brief. Heart problems, political pressure and a series of public relations glitches forced his resignation.