Jack Koehler

John O. "Jack" Koehler (June 11, 1930 – September 28, 2012) was a German-born American journalist and executive for the Associated Press, who also briefly served as the White House Communications Director in 1987 during the Reagan administration.[1]

Jack Koehler
White House Communications Director
In office March 1, 1987 – March 13, 1987
President	Ronald Reagan
Preceded by	Pat Buchanan
Succeeded by	Tom Griscom
Personal details
Born	Wolfgang Koehler June 11, 1930 Dresden, Deutsches Reich
Died	September 28, 2012 (aged 82) Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.
Political party	Republican

Early life and education

Koehler was born Wolfgang Koehler in Dresden, Germany, but fled the city to escape the invasion of Soviet troops into Germany towards the end of World War II.[1] He soon found a position as a German language interpreter for the United States Army when he was a teenager.[1] He moved to Canada after World War II and then immigrated to the United States in 1954.[1] Koehler enlisted in the U.S. Army, where he worked in intelligence.[1] He legally changed his name to John Koehler after moving to the United States.[1]

Career

Koehler took a position with the Associated Press as a foreign correspondent in Berlin and Bonn, West Germany.[1] He then became the Associated Press' bureau chief in Newark, New Jersey.[1] He rose to become the assistant general manager and managing director of AP's world services, a position he held until his retirement in 1985.[1]

The United States Information Agency recruited Koehler to lobby on behalf of Afghan rebels following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.[1] He traveled to Pakistan and France to focus on helping rebels get their messages out to journalists and foreign governments.[1]

In 1987, Koehler, who was friends with Ronald Reagan, became the White House Communications Director.[1] However, Koehler resigned after just one week in the White House after it became public that he had been a member of the Deutsches Jungvolk, a Nazi government youth division, when he was ten years old.[1] Koehler insisted that his membership in the Jungvolk was not the reason for his resignation, dismissing the Jungvolk as "the Boy Scouts run by the Nazi party."[1] Rather, he said, he wanted to give his successor time to choose a new communication team.[1] He then started an international consulting firm.[1]

He authored two books during his later life, Stasi: The Untold Story of the East German Secret Police and Spies in the Vatican: The Soviet Union's Cold War Against the Catholic Church.[1]

Personal life

Koehler died from pancreatic cancer at his home in Stamford, Connecticut, on September 28, 2012, at the age of 82.[1] He was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.[1]

References

1. "Former AP executive Koehler, who also served a week in Reagan White House, dies in Conn. at 82". Associated Press. Times Leader. September 29, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2017.