Navy secretary nominee's death ruled suicide
Bush mourns loss of 'good friend'
 |
Colin McMillan was "a public servant and patriot who served his country and state," President Bush said in a written statement Friday.
Story Tools
|
ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (CNN) -- President Bush's nominee for Navy secretary, Colin McMillan, committed suicide Thursday, dying from a single gunshot wound to his head, New Mexico's state medical investigator ruled Friday.
McMillan, 67, a retired Marine who worked in New Mexico's state legislature for more than a decade and became a powerful force in the oil and banking industries, was found dead at his ranch in Roswell, New Mexico, on Thursday afternoon.
Bush, who nominated McMillan in May to replace Gordon England, said he was deeply saddened by the news and called McMillan a "good friend."
New Mexico's two U.S. senators paid tribute to McMillan on the Senate floor.
"His death is rather unexplainable. We still don't know enough about it, but we do know that he was too young to die and succeeded at just about everything he tried in his life," said Sen. Pete Domenici, a Republican.
Domenici said McMillan had been suffering from cancer, and his friends thought he was recovering "when this tragedy occurred."
"His death is a loss to us in New Mexico. It is a loss to the country. We will be deprived of his leadership," said Sen. Jeff Bingaman, a Democrat.
In a written statement, Bush called McMillan "a public servant and patriot who served his country and state."
McMillan, a petroleum geophysicist, ran the oil and gas exploration company Permian Exploration Corp.; was chairman of First Federal Bank, a regional bank with offices in New Mexico and Texas; and was a primary partner in Three Rivers Cattle Ltd.
McMillan served as assistant secretary of defense in 1990 under then-Defense Secretary Dick Cheney, and was chairman of Bush's 2000 presidential campaign in New Mexico.
In addition to his political clout and high-powered corporate positions, McMillan loved to fly airplanes, logging more than 7,000 hours of flight time over the years.
