William H. Draper, Jr. – Major General, United States Army

The Draper name is well known in the venture capital industry. General William H. Draper Jr. became the first professional West Coast venture capitalist when he founded Draper, Gaither & Anderson in 1958. Formerly Undersecretary of the Army, General Draper was responsible for economic reconstruction of Germany and Japan under the Marshall Plan.


William H. Draper, Jr. State of Residency: New York
Non-career appointee
Title: U.S. Permanent Representative on the Council of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, with the rank and status of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary; also Chief of the U.S. Mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and European Regional Organizations at Paris
Appointment: April 8, 1953
Termination of Appointment: June 13, 1953
Note: Not commissioned; designated by the President.


Army Gen. William H. Draper Jr., who died when Tim was in high school, had helped administer the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after World War II, and later served as Undersecretary of the Army in the Truman and Eisenhower administrations. Moving to the private sector, he was a pioneering venture capitalist.

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