What did Nelson Rockefeller do in the New York government before he
became governor in 1958?

He left the federal government in 1956, and "served in various
capacities" in NY before he became governor.  I can't find out what
these "various capacities" are.

Dear halphillips-ga

Thank you for allowing me to answer your interesting question.

Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (1908-1979) served as Undersecretary of the
Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in 1953 and 1954 and was
Special Assistant on Foreign Policy to President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
He was also as head of the secret "Forty Committee", a group charged
with overseeing the CIA's covert operations, from 1954 to 1955. He is
said to have worked on foreign affairs, government reorganization, and
public policy under both Presidents Truman and Eisenhower. Nelson
Rockefeller had been on the verge of securing a senior position in the
Department of Defense but Eisenhower came to realize that Rockefeller
has a conflicting political agenda and helped hasten the man?s
political advisory career. From 1956 to 1958 Rockefeller didn?t do too
much in the political arena, except for campaigning of course leading
up to his 1958 election.

?Rockefeller left federal service in 1956 to concentrate on New York
state politics, where he served in various capacities before being
elected governor?
WORD IQ
http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Nelson_Rockefeller

In his private life however, Rockefeller did hold some active and
honorary offices in which he served in ?various capacities":

Rockefeller was officially an Officer of the US Executive Branch from
1953 to 1958.

He was Founder and Trustee of the Rockefeller Brother Fund from 1940
until to his death in 1979 having served as its President from
1956-1958.

He was Director of Rockefeller Center Inc. from 1931-1958.


I hope you find that my research exceeds your expectations. If you
have any questions about my research please post a clarification
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in the near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher


INFORMATION SOURCES

WORLD BOOK
http://www2.worldbook.com/wc/popup?path=features/presidents&page=html/rockefeller.htm&direct=yes

PBS: AMERICAN EXPERIENCE
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rockefellers/peopleevents/p_rock_n.html

THE MODERN HISTORY PROJECT
http://www.modernhistoryproject.org/mhp/ArticleDisplay.php?Article=RockIntl02

THE MODERN HISTORY PROJECT ? ROCKEFELLER TIMELINE
http://www.modernhistoryproject.org/mhp/EntityDisplay.php?Entity=RockefellerNA
http://www.modernhistoryproject.org/mhp/EntityDisplay.php?Entity=USExecutive&Start=1953


SEARCH STRATEGY


SEARCH ENGINE USED:

Google ://www.google.com


SEARCH TERMS USED:

NELSON ROCKEFELLER

1953

1954

1955

1956

1957

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Request for Answer Clarification by halphillips-ga on 29 Jun 2004 23:17 PDT

Thanks, but I was looking specifically for what he did in New York
politics during that time, not what he did overall.  It says he
"served in various capacities" in New York politics from 1956-1958.

---

Clarification of Answer by tutuzdad-ga on 30 Jun 2004 07:09 PDT

Aside from what I have already mentioned, he helped organize the ASIA
SOCIETY in 1956, a national nonprofit, nonpartisan educational
organization that provides a forum for building awareness of the more
than thirty countries broadly defined as the Asia-Pacific region. This
is a New York based organization.

ASIA SOCIETY
http://www.asiasociety.org/about/index.html 


According to White House records and Eisenhower?s papers, he also
served on a number of committees during this period, 1956-1958:

Rockefeller - Committee on Reorganization of the Government
[1956-1958] (1) [the President's powers over independent regulatory
commissions; the White House Executive Office organization for
management activities; the Presidential workload; proposed Department
of Transportation]

Rockefeller - Committee on Reorganization of the Government (2)
[reorganization of Defense Mobilization and Civil Defense
responsibilities; reorganization of the Department of Defense]

Rockefeller - Committee on Reorganization of the Government (3)
[organization for international affairs; reorganization of the Dept.
of Defense; Executive Office organization for management activities]

Rockefeller - Committee on Reorganization of the Government (4)
[organization of federal transportation functions; organization for
international affairs]

Rockefeller - Committee on Reorganization of the Government (5)
[organization for national security - international affairs; executive
office organization for budget and management activities]


Regards;
tutuzdad-ga

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Clarification of Answer by tutuzdad-ga on 30 Jun 2004 07:13 PDT

Sorry, here's the link to the latter .pdf document:

http://www.eisenhower.utexas.edu/listofholdingshtml/listofholdingsW/WHITEHOUSEOFFICEOFFICEOFTHESTAFFSECRETARYRECORDSOFPAULTCARROLLANDREWJGOODPASTERLARTHURMINNICHANDCHRISTOPHERHRUSSELL195261/SubjectWhiteHouse.pdf

Regards;
tutuzdad-ga