He went to Hoover, he’s Armenian, and he held some of America’s top government positions.  

Who is he? 

His name is Paul Ignatius. 

And get this, he’s 101 years old!

Ignatius’s list of government positions is amazing. 

Ignatius held government positions like Secretary of the Navy, Assistant Secretary of Defense (Under President Lyndon B. Johnson), Assistant Secretary of the Army (Under President John F. Kennedy), and job positions such as President & CEO of the Air Transport Association, President of the Washington Post newspaper, Executive Vice President of the Washington Post, Trustee of the George C. Marshall Foundation, member of the Federal City Council, and member of the Washington Institute of Foreign Affairs.

Ignatius, born in Glendale (1920), is the son of Elisa New Jamgocjian and Joseph B. Ignatius (former last name being Ignatosian), both of whom migrated from Armenia to Glendale sometime in the late 1900s. 

“I’m really glad the home I was born in is more full of life now than it was before,” he said.

Ignatius attended the 2015 Armenian Genocide Centennial banquet in the capital and played a role as one of the headline speakers during the event. 

“This should never have happened to the Armenians,” said Ignatius prior to the event. “This was truly an event that we should never forget.”

Ignatius has accomplished much in his life from the Navy, all the way to the research and development industries. 

Ignatius was honered at his zoom event during quarantine where a lot of people all over the country were very inspired by his accomplishments over his life. 

¨I am proud to mention such a person is a hoover grad,” Hoover Principal Dr. Jennifer Earl said.

But where is he, and what is he up to right now? 

He is retired and is living in Washington D.C with his wife, Nancy Weiser Sharpless, and their children, David Ignatius and Adi Ignatius. 

Dr.Earl mentioned ¨Both of his children are very successful.”