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Lawyer Helped Lead AIDS Foundation  

Michael J. Calhoun, 61, a lawyer who was a top official in the Department of Health and Human Services during the presidency of George H.W. Bush and who later helped lead an AIDS foundation, died Feb. 24 of cancer of the thymus at his home in Mill Valley, Calif. . . .

In 1989, Mr. Calhoun became chief of staff to HHS Secretary Louis Sullivan and helped oversee a department of 65,000 employees. He led the first Cabinet-level tour of Africa to explore the impact of AIDS and was "widely credited with helping Sullivan get control of the department and his image," according to a 1990 article in the National Journal. "Calhoun, in addition to pulling together a formerly fractious HHS team, also gave Sullivan a piece of time-honored advice: lead with your strengths. He helped him home in to take a stand on public health issues such as prevention, nutrition and smoking."

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