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Jim Nicholson, a Denver-area developer who served as secretary of veterans affairs for President George W. Bush, has joined Denver-based law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck as senior counsel. Nicholson's practice for the firm includes public policy, health care, international law, state and federal regulatory law, real estate, oil and gas, and alternative energy
Nicholson was nominated by President
George W. Bush to serve as Secretary of Veterans Affairs on December
9, 2004, and was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on January
26, 2005. He was sworn into office on February 1, 2005.
As secretary of Veterans Affairs, Mr. Nicholson was the principal
advocate for veterans in the U.S. government, ensuring that they
receive the care, support, recognition and dignity they deserve
for their service to our country. He also directed the Department
of Veterans Affairs, the federal government’s second largest
Cabinet Department, responsible for a nationwide system of health
care services, benefit programs, and national cemeteries for America’s
veterans and dependents. With a budget of more than $69 billion
for fiscal year 2005, VA employs approximately 230,000 people
at hundreds of VA medical centers, clinics, nursing homes, benefits
offices, and national cemeteries throughout the country.
Prior to his nomination, Mr. Nicholson served as U.S. Ambassador
to the Holy See, a position he held since 2001, where he became
a well-known advocate in Rome for the elevation of human dignity,
giving special emphasis to human trafficking, religious freedom,
starvation and bio-tech food, HIV-AIDS, and international terrorism.
He was knighted by Pope John Paul II in October 2003 for this
work representing the U.S. to the Vatican.
Mr. Nicholson was born in 1938 and grew up on a tenant farm in
northwest Iowa in a family of seven children. He is a 1961 graduate
of the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. He served
eight years on active duty as a paratrooper and Ranger-qualified
Army officer, then 22 years in the Army Reserve, retiring with
the rank of colonel. While serving in Vietnam, he earned the Bronze
Star Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, the Meritorious Service
Medal, Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry and two Air Medals.
Mr. Nicholson earned a master’s degree from Columbia University
in New York, and a law degree from the University of Denver. He
practiced law in Denver, specializing in real estate, municipal
finance and zoning law. In 1978, he founded Nicholson Enterprises,
Inc., a developer of planned residential communities, and in 1987
he bought Renaissance Homes, which became an award-winning builder
of quality custom homes.
In January 1986, Mr. Nicholson was elected committeeman from
Colorado for the Republican National Committee (RNC). In 1993,
he was elected vice-chairman of the RNC, and in January 1997,
he was elected chairman of the RNC, where he served for four years,
through the elections of 2000.
Mr. Nicholson is married to the former Suzanne Marie Ferrell
of Highland Falls, New York, who is an accomplished artist. They
are the parents of three adult children.
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