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Erik Prince

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For the English soccer player, see Eric Prince (footballer).
Erik Dean Prince
File:Erik prince blackwater.jpg
Erik D. Prince
Born (1969-06-06) June 6, 1969 (age 55)
Holland, Michigan
NationalityAmerican
Educationgraduate of Hillsdale College
Occupationprivate military company executive
Known forfounder of Blackwater Worldwide
Titlechairman and CEO of the Prince Group and Blackwater Worldwide
Political partyRepublican
Board member ofChristian Freedom International
Spouse(s)Joan Nicole Prince (deceased); Joanna Ruth Prince, neé Houck
Children7; 4 from his first marriage and 3 from his second
Parent(s)Edgar D. Prince and Elsa Prince-Broekhuizen
RelativesBetsy DeVos (sister)

Erik D. Prince (born June 6, 1969) is the American 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 Representative 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 in Haiti, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean, as well as Bosnia. When his father unexpectedly died in 1995, Prince ended his Navy service prematurely. Prince's mother sold the Prince Corporation for $1.3 billion in cash 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.[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 has seven children.[14]

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"[15] headed by James Dobson. The foundation is also a major donor to Calvin College,[16] 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.[17][18][19] Prince is a donor, along with others to the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian legal group.[20] Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards has characterized Prince as one of George W. Bush's "political cronies."[21] Prince has denied using family clout to obtain contracts for Blackwater.[22]

Relations with the media

Confidentiality agreements prohibit former Blackwater executives from talking about Prince.[23] He has been described by the press as "reclusive"[24] and "secretive".[25] 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.[17] 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."[17]

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

See also: Blackwater Baghdad shootings and Blackwater Worldwide arms smuggling allegations

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.[26] 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.[27][28][29]

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.[30] Public relations powerhouse Burson-Marsteller was brought in briefly, but at a critical moment, to help Prince prepare for the hearing.[31]

  • When testifying before Congress on October 2, 2008, 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." [32]
  • 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.[33] Later he stated that the company could provide it at a future date if questions were submitted in writing.[34][35]
  • When the term "mercenaries" was used to describe Blackwater employees, Prince objected, characterizing them instead as "loyal Americans".

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.[36] Prince has expressed a desire to become a high school teacher and is severing his ties to Xe.[37][38]

References

  1. ^ 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
  2. ^ a b Licensed to Kill: Hired Guns in the War on Terror by Robert Young Pelton, Crown, 2006, pages 1 Cite error: The named reference "Pelton_Kill_P1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  3. ^ Testimony of Erik D. Prince, Chairman and CEO, Blackwater For The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, October 2, 2007
  4. ^ Full name of Mrs. Prince on federal contribution list.
  5. ^ a b c Ready for battle by Jim Schaefer, M.L. Elrick and Todd Spangler, The Detroit Free Press, October 7, 2007.
  6. ^ NNDB, Erik Prince, "Erik Prince"
  7. ^ a b The Virginian-Pilot, Hampton Roads, "Q&A: Blackwater's founder on the record", July 24, 2006.
  8. ^ http://www.hillsdale.net/stories/111207/news_20071112013.shtml
  9. ^ White-Collar Mercenary Under Fire by Marc Pitzke, Der Spiegel, October 3, 2007,
  10. ^ a b The Virginian-Pilot, Hampton Roads, "Blackwater's top brass", July 24, 2006. Cite error: The named reference "HamptonRoads_072406_1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  11. ^ The Man Behind Blackwater." Newsweek, October 23, 2007, pages 36–39.
  12. ^ In the Black(water), Jeremy Scahill, The Nation, May 22, 2006.
  13. ^ Richard DeVos, Forbes, 2004.
  14. ^ Vanity Fair, January 2010.
  15. ^ The Bush administration's ties to Blackwater, by Ben Van Heuvelen, Salon, October 2, 2007.
  16. ^ http://www.calvin.edu/news/2001-02/fallboard.htm
  17. ^ a b c Mike Barker, AP, "Testimony Lifts Veil on Blackwater Boss", October 2, 2007. Cite error: The named reference "AP_090207" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  18. ^ Blackwater's Prince Has GOP, Christian Group Ties, NPR, Corey Flintoff, September 25, 2007.
  19. ^ 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 $2,300,000.
  20. ^ Posner, Sarah. "The Legal Muscle Leading the Fight to End the Separation of Church and State" April 1, 2007, Washington Spectator Online
  21. ^ Edwards: Limit Private Security Firms by Philip Elliott, the Associated Press, October 2, 2007.
  22. ^ Security boss Erik Prince: I didn't use DeVos clout for Iraq job by Todd Spangler, Free Press, October 3, 2007
  23. ^ Founder of N.C. security company from prominent GOP family, the Associated Press, May 3, 2004.
  24. ^ Blackwater: Inside America's private army by Joanne Kimberlin and Bill Sizemore, Landmark News Service, August 3, 2006
  25. ^ Iraq security firm denies trigger-happy charge by Ewen MacAskill, The Guardian, October 2, 2007
  26. ^ "Blackwater killed 17 says Iraq". BBC News. October 8, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-08.
  27. ^ "Foreign Terrorist Organizations List". United States Department of State. Retrieved 2007-08-03. - U.S. State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations|USSD Foreign Terrorist Organization
  28. ^ "Terrorism Act 2000". Home Office. Retrieved 2007-08-14. - Terrorism Act 2000
  29. ^ "Council Decision". Council of the European Union. Retrieved 2007-08-14.
  30. ^ BBC News, "Blackwater boss grilled over Iraq", October 2, 2007.
  31. ^ Blackwater Mounts a Defense With Top Talent
  32. ^ Iraq security firm denies trigger-happy charge by Ewen MacAskill, The Guardian, October 3, 2007.
  33. ^ The Man From Blackwater, Shooting From the Lip by Dana Milbank, The Washington Post, October 3, 2007, Page A02.
  34. ^ Rise of the white-collar mercenary, Brian Dickerson, Detroit Free Press, October 3, 2007.
  35. ^ CSPAN video of the quote on Youtube.
  36. ^ Kravitz, Derek, "Blackwater Founder Steps Aside", Washington Post, March 2, 2009; Baker, Mike, "Blackwater Founder Resigns As Chief Executive", Associated Press, March 3, 2009.
  37. ^ http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ixH5l82hbCz1NXqc3wVvpf7xR5WAD9CBEIL00
  38. ^ 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.
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