HENDRIK MEIJER

Author of Arthur Vandenberg: The Man in the Middle of the American Century

Hendrik Meijer, executive chairman of supermarket chain Meijer, Inc and a longtime reporter and news editor revealed how Michigan Senator Arthur Vandenberg built and nurtured a spirit of bipartisanship that flourished into the American Century.

Arthur Vandenberg was a consensus builder who played a critical role in the establishment of the Marshall Plan, the United Nations, and Nato.

Though he was initially an outspoken opponent of the New Deal and a leader among isolationists, at the onset of World War Two, Vandenberg soon recognized the need for unity. He went on to play a monumental role in critical foreign policy decisions.

Meijer reflected on the impact of Vandenberg’s life and career on President Nixon, who he worked with in then-Congressman Nixon’s earliest years in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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