William vanden Heuvel

William Jacobus vanden Heuvel (April 14, 1930 – June 15, 2021) was an American attorney, businessman, author and diplomat of Dutch descent. He was known for advising Robert F. Kennedy during the latter's campaigns for Senate in 1964 and President in 1968. Vanden Heuvel established the Roosevelt Institute in 1987. He was the father of longtime editor of The Nation magazine Katrina vanden Heuvel and actress Wendy vanden Heuvel, children from his marriage to author-editor Jean Stein, the daughter of MCA founder Jules C. Stein. Early life and education Vanden Heuvel was born in Rochester, New York, on April 14, 1930. His father, Joost, immigrated to the United States from the Netherlands and worked at an R.T. French Company factory; his mother, Alberta (Demunter), immigrated from Belgium. He attended public schools in New York. He attended Deep Springs College (Deep Springs does not "graduate" attendees) and graduated from Cornell University, where he was a member of the Cornell Branch of the Telluride Association. While a student at Cornell Law School, he was editor-in-chief of the Cornell Law Review, served as president of the Young Democrats and Debate Club, and was elected to the Tompkins County Board of Commissioners. He was admitted to the New York Bar in 1952, and then joined the law firm of Donovan, Leisure, Newton & Irvine as an associate. Career An early protégé of Office of Strategic Services founder William J. Donovan, vanden Heuvel served at the U.S. embassy (1953–1954) in Bangkok, Thailand, as Donovan's executive assistant during his ambassadorship. In 1958, vanden Heuvel served as special counsel to New York State Governor W. Averell Harriman. Vanden Heuvel became U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy's assistant in 1962, and was involved in Kennedy's 1964 and 1968 political campaigns. As special assistant to Attorney General Kennedy, vanden Heuvel played the key role in court, orchestrating the desegregation of the Prince Edward County school system, which expanded the scope of the landmark decision, Brown v. Board of Education.