Erik D. Prince (born June 6 1969) is the founder and sole owner of the private military company Xe, formerly Blackwater Worldwide.[2] Testifying before the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on October 2, 2007, he gave his title as chairman and CEO of the Prince Group and Blackwater Worldwide, then named Blackwater USA.[3]. On March 2, 2009, Prince announced that he was stepping down as CEO of Xe.
Early life and career
Erik Prince was born in Holland, Michigan into a wealthy family, the youngest child of Edgar D. Prince, founder of the Prince Corporation (an automobile-parts company that introduced lighted vanity mirrors for cars), and Elsa Broekhuizen.[4] He has three older sisters.[5] Prince's mother is of Dutch heritage.[citation needed]
Prince earned an airplane pilot's license at age 17 and graduated from Holland Christian High School.[6] He attended the United States Naval Academy after high school,[7] but left the academy after three semesters, and ultimately graduated from Hillsdale College in 1992. During his time at Hillsdale, Prince served as a volunteer firefighter and as a diver for the Hillsdale County Sheriff's Department.[8]
He was an intern in the White House under President George H. W. Bush[9] and subsequently criticized that administration's policies to the Grand Rapids Press, saying: "I saw a lot of things I didn't agree with—homosexual groups being invited in, the budget agreement, the Clean Air Act, those kinds of bills."[5] He also served as an intern to California Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher. While at Hillsdale, Prince campaigned for presidential candidate Pat Buchanan, and interned at his father's co-founded Gary Bauer's Family Research Council.[5]
After college, he earned a commission in the United States Navy after joining in 1992 via Officer Candidate School. He served as a Navy SEAL officer on deployments to Haiti, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean, including Bosnia. When his father, Edgar, unexpectedly died in 1995, Prince ended his Navy service prematurely. Prince's mother, Elsa, sold the Prince Corporation for $1.3 billion to Johnson Controls, Inc. Prince moved to Virginia Beach and personally financed the formation of Blackwater Worldwide in 1997.[7][10] He bought 6,000 acres (24 km2) of the Great Dismal Swamp of North Carolina and set up a school for special operations operators.[11] The name "Blackwater" comes from the peat-colored bogs in which the school is located.
Family
Prince's father co-founded the Family Research Council with Gary Bauer.[12] Prince is the brother of Betsy DeVos, a former chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party and wife of former Alticor (Amway) president and Gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos[10], son of Richard DeVos, Sr. (listed by Forbes in 2007 as one of the world's richest men, with a net worth of $2.4 billion).[13]
Prince was unfaithful to his first wife, Joan Nicole Prince, cheating on her with their nanny, Joanna Houck. When Joan Prince died of cancer in 2003, Houck attended the funeral while pregnant with Prince's child. Prince and Houck were married a year later.[14]
Prince has seven children.[15]
Political donations
Prince serves as vice president of the Edgar and Elsa Prince Foundation. Salon reports that "between July 2003 and July 2006, the foundation gave at least $670,000 to the Family Research Council, which his family founded, and $531,000 to Focus on the Family"[16] headed by James Dobson. The foundation is also a major donor to Calvin College[17], a Christian institution in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Prince also serves as a board member of Christian Freedom International, a non-profit group with a mission of helping "Christians who are persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ."
Since 1998, Prince has personally donated over $200, 000 to Republican causes.[18][19][20] Prince is a donor, along with others to the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian legal group.[21] Prince had also contributed money to the Green Party of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, though this has been interpreted as an unsuccessful attempt to help Republican candidate Rick Santorum in his race against Democratic challenger Bob Casey.[22]
Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards has characterized Prince as one of George W. Bush's "political cronies."[23] Prince has denied using family clout to obtain contracts for Blackwater.[24]
Relations with the media
Confidentiality agreements prohibit former Blackwater executives from talking about Prince.[25] He has been described by the press as "reclusive"[26] and "secretive".[27] Prince is noted for disliking having his photo taken and distributed; often using his hands to shield himself from photographers. While attending a technology conference in North Carolina, he was visibly uncomfortable when photographed on stage and officials asked that the images not be published.[18] He also frequently turns down interview requests.[2]
According to the head of a competing contractor, "Realistically, there's ongoing projects by (terrorist groups) to collect data on private contractors. I appreciate and understand his efforts to protect his family. The guy needs his privacy."[18]
However, in response to controversy surrounding the September 16, 2007 Blackwater Baghdad shootings and its subsequent FBI investigation, Prince has emerged from media seclusion to grant more on-camera interviews. Some noteworthy appearances where he discusses the incident include:
Blackwater controversies
Prince's company, Blackwater Worldwide, was involved in several international controversies during 2007, leading to his being asked to testify before the United States Congress. Seventeen Iraqi civilians were killed when a Blackwater private security detail (PSD) escorted a convoy of US State Department vehicles en route to a meeting in western Baghdad with United States Agency for International Development officials on September 16, 2007.[28] On September 22, 2007, Federal prosecutors announced an investigation into whether Blackwater employees illegally smuggled weapons into Iraq that were later possibly transferred to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a Kurdish nationalist group designated a terrorist organization by the US, North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union.[29][30][31]
Congressional investigation
On October 2, 2007 Prince was subject to a congressional hearing conducted by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform following the controversy related to Blackwater's conduct in Iraq and Afghanistan.[32] Public relations powerhouse Burson-Marsteller was brought in briefly, but at a critical moment, to help Prince, prepare for the Oct 2 hearing.[33]
- When testifying before Congress on October 2, 2007, about Blackwater Worldwide's activities in Iraq, Prince complained about the lack of remedies his company has to deal with employee misdeeds. When asked why an employee involved in a fatal incident had been "whisked out of the country" he replied, "We can't flog him, we can't incarcerate him." [34]
- When asked by a member of Congress for financial information about his company, he declined to provide it. "We're a private company, and there's a key word there -- private," Prince answered.[35] Later he stated that the company could provide it at a future date if questions were submitted in writing.[36][37]
- When the term "mercenaries" was used to describe Blackwater employees, Prince objected, characterizing them instead as "loyal Americans," notwithstanding the fact that Blackwater employees comprise many nationalities.[38]
Federal lawsuit
On August 3, 2009, two anonymous former Blackwater employees swore under oath that Prince may have murdered or facilitated the murder of individuals who were cooperating with federal authorities investigating the company. In addition, they said that Prince "views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe," and that Prince's companies "encouraged and rewarded the destruction of Iraqi life." The allegations surfaced in pre-trial motions in an Eastern District of Virginia civil lawsuit brought on behalf of Iraqi civilians by Susan Burke, a private attorney working in conjunction with the Center for Constitutional Rights.[39]
Resignation
Prince announced his resignation as CEO of Blackwater (now called Xe) on March 2, 2009. Prince will remain as chairman of the board but will no longer be involved in day-to-day operations. Joseph Yorio was named as the new president, replacing Gary Jackson, who resigned. Yorio also took Prince's place as CEO. Danielle Esposito was named the new chief operating officer and executive vice president.[40] Prince has expressed a desire to become a high school teacher and is severing his ties to Xe.[41][42]
See also
References
- ^ The Man Behind Blackwater: Dutiful and intense, son of a self-made billionaire, Erik Prince is an adventure-seeker and conservative true-believer. An exclusive. by Evan Thomas and Mark Hosenball, Newsweek, October 22, 2007
- ^ a b Licensed to Kill: Hired Guns in the War on Terror by Robert Young Pelton, Crown, 2006, pages 1
- ^ Testimony of Erik D. Prince, Chairman and CEO, Blackwater For The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, October 2, 2007
- ^ Full name of Mrs. Prince on federal contribution list.
- ^ a b c Ready for battle by Jim Schaefer, M.L. Elrick and Todd Spangler, The Detroit Free Press, October 7, 2007.
- ^ NNDB, Erik Prince, "Erik Prince"
- ^ a b The Virginian-Pilot, Hampton Roads, "Q&A: Blackwater's founder on the record", July 24, 2006.
- ^ http://www.hillsdale.net/stories/111207/news_20071112013.shtml
- ^ White-Collar Mercenary Under Fire by Marc Pitzke, Der Spiegel, October 3, 2007,
- ^ a b The Virginian-Pilot, Hampton Roads, "Blackwater's top brass", July 24, 2006.
- ^ The Man Behind Blackwater." Newsweek, October 23, 2007, pages 36–39.
- ^ In the Black(water), Jeremy Scahill, The Nation, May 22, 2006.
- ^ Richard DeVos, Forbes, 2004.
- ^ Simons, Suzanne: Master of War: Blackwater USA's Erik Prince and the Business of War, page 75. Harper, 2009.
- ^ [http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2010/01/blackwater-201001?currentPage=1 Vanity Fair, January 2010.
- ^ The Bush administration's ties to Blackwater, by Ben Van Heuvelen, Salon, October 2, 2007.
- ^ Calvin College
- ^ a b c Mike Barker, AP, "Testimony Lifts Veil on Blackwater Boss", October 2, 2007.
- ^ Blackwater's Prince Has GOP, Christian Group Ties, NPR, Corey Flintoff, September 25, 2007.
- ^ Grilled Blackwater chairman a major GOP donor by Andrew Malcolm, The Baltimore Sun, October 4, 2007. Puts the figure of Prince's Republican donations at $230, 000.
- ^ Posner, Sarah. "The Legal Muscle Leading the Fight to End the Separation of Church and State" April 1, 2007, Washington Spectator Online
- ^ Grilled Blackwater chairman a major GOP donor by Andrew Malcolm, The Baltimore Sun, October 4, 2007
- ^ Edwards: Limit Private Security Firms by Philip Elliott, the Associated Press, October 2, 2007.
- ^ Security boss Erik Prince: I didn't use DeVos clout for Iraq job by Todd Spangler, Free Press, October 3, 2007
- ^ Founder of N.C. security company from prominent GOP family, the Associated Press, May 3, 2004.
- ^ Blackwater: Inside America's private army by Joanne Kimberlin and Bill Sizemore, Landmark News Service, August 3, 2006
- ^ Iraq security firm denies trigger-happy charge by Ewen MacAskill, The Guardian, October 2, 2007
- ^ "Blackwater killed 17 says Iraq". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7033048.stm. Retrieved 2007-10-08.
- ^ "Foreign Terrorist Organizations List". United States Department of State. http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/fs/2002/12535.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-03. - USSD Foreign Terrorist Organization
- ^ "Terrorism Act 2000". Home Office. http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/20000011.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-14. - Terrorism Act 2000
- ^ "Council Decision". Council of the European Union. http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/45394.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-14.
- ^ BBC News, "Blackwater boss grilled over Iraq", October 2, 2007.
- ^ Blackwater Mounts a Defense With Top Talent
- ^ Iraq security firm denies trigger-happy charge by Ewen MacAskill, The Guardian, October 3, 2007.
- ^ The Man From Blackwater, Shooting From the Lip by Dana Milbank, The Washington Post, October 3, 2007, Page A02.
- ^ Rise of the white-collar mercenary, Brian Dickerson, Detroit Free Press, October 3, 2007.
- ^ CSPAN video of the quote on Youtube.
- ^ Blackwater Unplugged by Bonnie Goldstein, Slate, October 3, 2007
- ^ Blackwater Founder Implicated In Murder by Jeremy Scahill, The Nation, August 4, 2009
- ^ Kravitz, Derek, "Blackwater Founder Steps Aside", Washington Post, March 2, 2009; Baker, Mike, "Blackwater Founder Resigns As Chief Executive", Associated Press, March 3, 2009.
- ^ http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ixH5l82hbCz1NXqc3wVvpf7xR5WAD9CBEIL00
- ^ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/02/erik-prince-blackwater-fo_n_376880.html
Further reading
- Licensed Kill: Hired Guns in the War on Terror by Robert Young Pelton, 2006. Prologue, which opens with an account of a meeting with Erik Prince; Chapter 2, and Chapter 11, "The Lord and the Prince" which contrasts the owner of Hart Security with that of Blackwater.
External links
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