Van Hipp, Jr

Who is Van Hipp, Jr?

Van D. Hipp, Jr. is Chairman of American Defense International, Inc., a Washington, DC-based consulting firm specializing in government affairs, business development and public relations.

From 1987 to 1989, Van Hipp served as the Chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party. In 1988, Hipp served as a member of the Presidential Electoral College, and as a speaker at the Republican National Convention, he introduced former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich.

In 1990, Van Hipp was sworn in as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army. In this capacity, he served as the Army Secretariat's "point man" for the successful mobilization, and then demobilization, of the Army's reserve forces for Operation Desert Shield/Storm.

Following the Tailhook scandal, Hipp was named by U.S. Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney to be the Principal Deputy General Counsel of the Navy. As the Navy's number two lawyer, Hipp's responsibilities involved all aspects of legal interest to the Navy, including government contracts, ethics, environmental and counter-narcotics law. Hipp served in this capacity until January 1993.

Van Hipp ran unsuccessfully for South Carolina's 1st congressional district in 1994, losing the Republican primary to Mark Sanford.