Hager was born in Durham, North Carolina. He started a neighborhood newspaper in 1945. While an undergraduate at Purdue University he ran a vending machine business, was an active member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, and was a member of ROTC. One term, his course load was 25 credit hours – about two thirds more than normal. He was graduated with a BSME in 1958. Both his parents, Virgil and Ruth Rabbe Hager, were 1928 Purdue alumni. Hager earned his MBA at Harvard in 1960, and subsequently served in the United States Army, rising to the rank of captain. Hager married Margaret Dickinson "Maggie" Chase on February 27, 1971; with whom he has two sons, John and Henry. Hager's younger son, Henry, married then-President George W. Bush's daughter, Jenna on May 10, 2008 at her parents' Prairie Chapel Ranch in Crawford, Texas. In 1973 he contracted polio when his son was vaccinated for the disease with live virus vaccine. As a result, he uses a nonmotorized wheelchair for daily ambulation – and competes in wheelchair races.
Career
After his active duty military service, Hager began work for the American Tobacco Company in Richmond, Virginia. The company retired him after his bout with polio, but he returned – beginning at the bottom again. At American Tobacco, he served as a government affairs representative. Hager was forcibly retired from the American Tobacco Company after the company's sale in 1994. In 1975, he volunteered for Lieutenant Governor John N. Dalton, and in 1984 he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention. In 1994, he co-chaired the Senatorial campaign for Oliver North. He ran for state party chairman in 1992, and was treasurer of the state Republican Party in 1994. Hager has served as the director of Virginia's homeland security under Governors Jim Gilmore and Mark Warner. Hager was elected Lieutenant Governor of Virginia in 1997, defeating Democrat Lewis F. Payne, Jr. Hager is believed to be the first individual with a disability to serve in an elected statewide office in Virginia. In 2001, Hager ran for Governor of Virginia, but lost the Republican nomination to Virginia's then Attorney General, Mark Earley. Hager is the former Assistant Secretary of the Department of Education's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services. He was nominated to this position by President George W. Bush on May 24, 2004, confirmed by the Senate on November 21, 2004 and resigned effective August 1, 2007. In July 2007, Hager was elected to serve as chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia. He was defeated for reelection by Delegate Jeff Frederick in May 2008.
Memberships
American Legion
Chairman, Disability Commission
co-chmn. com. on Ednl. Infrastructure
chmn. Faith Based Cmty. Svcs. Task Force
vice-chmn. Gov.'s Commn. on Transp. Policy
bd. dir., vice-chair Aerospace State Assn.
trustee, v.p. Jamestown Yorktown Found.
Honorary Chairman, Greater Richmond Convention Center
Director, President, Sorensen Institute of Political Leadership
