John Shalikashvili, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, dies

July 23rd, 2011

04:09 PM ET

Retired Army Gen. John Shalikashvili, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has died of complications from a stroke, his executive assistant, Rachel McLain, told CNN Saturday. He was 75.

Shalikashvili passed away Saturday at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington, McLain said. He is survived by his wife, Joan, and their son, Brant.
Born in Poland in 1936, Shalikashvili became the first foreign-born chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1993. He held the post until his retirement in 1997, serving under former President Bill Clinton.
Prior to that, Shalikashvili was NATO's 10th supreme allied commander in Europe.
He was drafted into the Army in 1958 and rose through the ranks, serving in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969 and heading up the 1991 international relief operation that airlifted food to and provided protection for the Kurds in northern Iraq.
Shalikashvili suffered a stroke in 2004.
He was in the news recently because of his support for a repeal of "don't ask, don't tell," the ban of gays and lesbians serving openly in the U.S. military.