Robert Bernard Anderson (June 4, 1910 August 14, 1989) was an American administrator, politician, and businessman. He served as the Secretary of the Navy between February 1953 and March 1954. He also served as the Secretary of the Treasury from 1957 until 1961, and was one of President Dwight Eisenhower's closest confidants. Two years before his death from cancer, he was disbarred for illegal banking operations and tax evasion. In the 1980s, Anderson illegally operated an Anguilla-based bank. The bank was involved in money laundering for drug traffickers. Anderson pleaded guilty to criminal violations of the banking laws, and was sentenced to prison. Early life Anderson was born in Burleson, Texas on June 4, 1910, to Robert Lee Anderson and his wife Elizabeth Haskew "Lizzy" Anderson. He was a high school teacher prior to entering the University of Texas Law School, from which he graduated in 1932. He thereafter engaged in political, governmental, law and business activities in the state of Texas. State government service Upon leaving the University of Texas School of Law in 1932, Anderson soon became an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Texas where he worked in 1933–1934. By 1934, he moved onward to become a State of Texas Tax Commissioner. By 1939–1940, Anderson pursued opportunities within the private sector; he and two other partners purchased the City of Austin-based KTBC radio station from the Texas Broadcasting Company. In 1943, not able to increase KTBC's broadcasting power from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the three partners sold KTBC to Lady Bird Johnson, wife of then-Representative and future President Lyndon B. Johnson. Marriage and children Anderson married Ollie Mae Rawlins on April 10, 1935. The couple had two sons, Gerald Lee and James Richard. The Anderson family later moved to Cleburne, Texas. Ollie Anderson died in Greenwich, Connecticut of Alzheimer disease on May 31, 1987. Federal government service According to the Seagraves, Anderson was with Douglas MacArthur and Edward Lansdale inspecting the Philippine caves containing Yamashita's gold immediately after World War II ended. During his time as Navy Secretary, he ended the last formal vestiges of racial segregation in the Navy and advocated the force levels and technological advances necessary to maintain a flexible defense strategy. In May 1954, Anderson left his Navy post to become Deputy Secretary of Defense. He received the Medal of Freedom in 1955. From 1957 to 1961, he served as Eisenhower's