Born March 22, 1908, in Shakopee, Minn. American accountant, banker, politician, and author. Stans served as secretary of commerce in Richard Nixon's administration from 1969 until he resigned in 1972 to become finance chairman of the Committee to Re-Elect the President (CREEP). Though caught up in the various litigations that resulted from the Watergate break in, Stans was never formally charged with being involved in the burglary or the attempt by administration officials to cover up the crime. He was, however, indicted in a U.S. district court on charges that he conspired to suppress a federal investigation into the activities of New Jersey financier Robert Vesco. Stans was acquitted of that charge, but he was ultimately convicted of five counts of violating campaign fund-raising laws.

A successful certified public accountant and bank president, Stans served as deputy postmaster general and as director of the U.S. Bureau of the Budget during the Eisenhower administration. He returned to the business world after his 1974 trial, and in 1981 he was named director of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. In his book, The Terrors of Justice: The Untold Side of Watergate (Everest House, 1978), Stans tells his version of the events surrounding the Watergate scandal.

He died of heart failure, April 14, 1998, in Pasadena, California.