Alexander Meigs Haig, Jr. (born December 2, 1924) is a retired United States Army general who served as the United States Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan and White House Chief of Staff under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. In 1973 Haig served as Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, the number-two ranking officer in the Army. Haig served as the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, commanding all U.S. and NATO forces in Europe. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Haig, a veteran of the Korean War and Vietnam War, is a recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star with oak leaf cluster, and the Purple Heart.

Haig attended Saint Joseph's Preparatory School in Philadelphia and graduated from Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. He was named "Most Likely to Become a Male Model" in his high school yearbook. He then went to the University of Notre Dame for one year, before transferring to the United States Military Academy, where he graduated in 1947. He studied business administration at Columbia Business School in 1954 and 1955. He also received a master's degree in international relations from Georgetown University in 1961, where his thesis focused on the role of the military officer in the making of national policy.