HALEY, 70, A TOP AIDE TO CLINTON
Written by Administrator
MARIA HALEY
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Maria Luisa Mabilangan Haley, the director of the Arkansas Economic
Development Commission and longtime aide to former President Bill Clinton, died Tuesday
(Sept. 13) from a brain aneurysm she suffered at work on Sept. 9.
She was 70.
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HALEY, 70, A TOP AIDE TO CLINTON
Written by Administrator
Haley died at 8:45 p.m. at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, according to
hospital spokeswoman Jerri Jackson.
She was the sister of former Philippine ambassador to the United Nations Felipe Mabilangan Jr.
Their father, Felipe Mabilangan Sr. of Sto. Tomas, Batangas, was also a former ambassador to
the U.N. and other countries.
Appointed by Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe following his 2006 election, Haley directed an agency
with more than 100 employees, and came to the state with extensive national and international
experience.
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, a personal friend, was the first to release a statement related
to Haley’s death.
“Maria Haley was a great public servant, a wonderful person, and my friend for more than 30
years,” Mr. Clinton says.
“When I was governor of Arkansas, Maria was invaluable in opening foreign markets to our
products, recruiting foreign investment in our state, and supporting my work in the National
Governors Association. After I became president, I nominated her to the board of the Export
Import Bank of the United States. During her service, from 1994 to 1999, the Export Import
Bank doubled financing for small business exports.
“Before and after her time at the Export Import Bank, she served as special assistant to the
president and as deputy director of the Presidential Personnel Office, helping other qualified
and dedicated people serve in important positions.
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HALEY, 70, A TOP AIDE TO CLINTON
Written by Administrator
Maria Haley, director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, listens as
Gov. Mike Beebe talks about their economic-development and trade mission to Europe in
2009. (Photo by Stephen B. Thornton)
“Maria was really a world citizen, who never lost contact with her native nation, the Philippines,
where she served as an adviser to President Gloria Arroyo,” Mr. Clinton says.
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HALEY, 70, A TOP AIDE TO CLINTON
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“Thousands of people in Arkansas, throughout the United States, and in the Philippines,
benefited from Maria Haley’s life-long commitment to bring economic opportunities to more
people. As we mourn her passing, we also must be very grateful for her life.”
Born in the Philippines, and educated in India, Pakistan, France and Spain, Haley also served
as senior director for Asia with the Kissinger McLarty Associates (2001-2007), a D.C.-based
hotshot international consultancy headed by former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and
former Clinton administration chief of staff Thomas F. “Mack” McLarty.
Haley married lawyer John Haley in 1971.
They divorced in the early 1990s and he died in a 2003 plane crash.
As an official of the Arkansas Industrial Development Commission (AIDC) from 1979 to 1992,
Haley was in charge of the Arkansas overseas offices in Brussels, Tokyo and Taipei.
She coordinated then Gov. Bill Clinton’s trade and investment missions overseas, and was staff
advisor to the governor on trade at the National Governors’ Association.
She served as protocol officer for the state and the governor’s office for 10 years.
During Haley’s tenure at AIDC, Arkansas landed major projects, including Graphic Packaging
(Fort Smith) Hewlett-Packard (Conway), LM Windpower (Little Rock), Mars (Fort Smith),
Mitsubishi (Fort Smith) and Nordex (Jonesboro).
There were also significant expansion projects secured under her direction from companies like
Dassault Falcon Jet (Little Rock), Georgia-Pacific (Crossett), Golden Living (Fort Smith)
Saint-Gobain (Saline County), Southwest Power Pool (Little Rock) and Windstream Corp. (Little
Rock).
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HALEY, 70, A TOP AIDE TO CLINTON
Written by Administrator
“Maria Haley did more for the State of Arkansas than most people will ever know. Her tireless
mission to create and keep jobs in Arkansas was a primary factor in our ability to ride out the
recession as well as we have,” says Gov. Beebe.
“After living all over the world, Maria made Arkansas her adopted home, and dedicated herself
to its betterment for more than 30 years. She was one of the first people I wanted on my team
when I became governor, and she will be dearly missed as a friend and colleague.”
Haley served twice in the White House at the Presidential Personnel Office (PPO).
From January 1993 to October 1994, as special assistant to the President and associate
director of PPO, she participated in the development of personnel systems and hiring processes
of the Clinton/Gore Administration.
She was the White House point of contact for the selection and approval of three economic
development agencies: commerce, transportation and HUD and 12 independent executive
agencies.
From 1999 to 2001, she returned to the White House as deputy assistant to the president and
deputy director of PPO.
She managed the day-to-day operations of PPO, participated in legislative strategies on
confirmation of presidential nominees, and was in charge of the Schedule C operation, which is
the selection and approval process of more than 1,500 junior-level appointments.
In 2001 and 2002, Haley served as an advisor to President Gloria Arroyo and the Philippine
Government on wide ranging topics such as money laundering, government transparency,
Philippine-American issues, and the political and religious ramification of the Sept. 11 tragedy.
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HALEY, 70, A TOP AIDE TO CLINTON
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Haley was awarded the Ron Brown Award for Advancing Trade Opportunities by the U.S. Small
Business Exporters Association, and the Philippine Presidential Award by the Commission on
Filipinos Overseas.
She was the recipient of the 2000 Stan Suyat Memorial Leadership Award from the Asian
American Government Executives Network and the 2006 Corporate Leadership Award from
Filipinas Magazines.
She co-founded with Conchitina Sevilla Bernardo the Karilagan Finishing School in Manila, the
first such school in Asia.
Haley then moved on to various managerial positions with the Manila Hilton and, after she
married lawyer John Haley in 1971 and moved with him to Little Rock, Arkansas, she joined
Fairfield Communities Inc. and established its resort division.
A few years later, she joined AIDC under then Gov. Clinton.
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