John H. Hager

John Henry Hager (August 28, 1936 – August 23, 2020) was an American politician who served as the 37th Lieutenant Governor of Virginia from 1998 to 2002. He was the first person with a disability to be elected to that office. He proceeded to act as an assistant secretary within the United States Department of Education from 2004 to 2007. He worked for the American Tobacco Company from the 1960s until 1994, and was the chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia from August 2007 until May 2008.

Early life and education Hager was born in Durham, North Carolina, to Virgil (1905–2002) and Ruth Rabbe Hager (1906–2000); both were 1928 Purdue alumni. He started a neighborhood newspaper in 1945. While an undergraduate at Purdue University, he ran a vending machine business, was an active member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, and was a member of ROTC. One term, his course load was 25 credit hours – about two-thirds more than normal. He graduated with a BSME (mechanical engineering) in 1958. Hager earned his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1960, and subsequently served in the United States Army, rising to the rank of captain. and was treasurer of the state Republican Party in 1994.

Hager served as the director of Virginia's homeland security under Governors Jim Gilmore and Mark Warner. At one of the hustings in the aforementioned election, he said, "I've met a lot of challenges in my life. It's been a trail of turning challenge into opportunity". Hager was the first individual with a disability to be elected to that office, and is believed to be the first in any U.S. state to have been so.

Hager ran for Governor of Virginia in 2001, but lost the Republican nomination to Virginia's then Attorney General, Mark Earley. While in office, he endeavored to finalize the department's regulations concerning the reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) within one year, as well as to give technical assistance to states in implementing IDEA. He also sought to enhance the Department's outreach, and advocated for transition services for individuals with disabilities to be given more attention. He resigned after three years at the helm, effective August 1, 2007.

In July 2007, Hager was elected to serve as chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia. However, he was defeated for reelection by Delegate Jeff Frederick less than a year later in May 2008.

Personal life Hager married Margaret Dickinson "Maggie" Chase on February 27, 1971. The couple had two sons, John (b. 1973) and Henry (b. 1978). Hager's younger son, Henry, married Jenna Bush, the daughter of George W. Bush the 43rd President of the United States, on May 10, 2008, at her parents' Prairie Chapel Ranch in Crawford, Texas.

In 1973, he contracted polio when his son was vaccinated for the disease with live virus vaccine. He was buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond.

Memberships American Legion vice-chmn. Gov.'s Commn. on Transp. Policy bd. dir., vice-chair Aerospace State Assn. Director, President, Sorensen Institute of Political Leadership past pres., trustee, exec. com. Children's Hosp. Distinguished Engineering Alumnus, Purdue University College of Engineering, 2007 Alumni Citizenship award, Purdue University, 1987 Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans award, Westminster-Canterbury, 1997 Humanitarian award, National Conference for Community and Justice, 2002