Albert Nimziki

Albert Alexander Nimziki
Biographical Information
Date of birth	1938
Place of birth	Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Nationality	American
Status	Alive
Career Information
Education	Georgetown University
Profession	Secretary of Defense (formerly), Director of the CIA (formerly)
Affiliation	USDOD (formerly) CIA (formerly) Project Smudge (formerly)
Family Information
Marital status	Single
Portrayal
Portrayed by	James Rebhorn
First appearance	Independence Day

Albert Nimziki (born 1938) was the U.S. Secretary of Defense under President Thomas Whitmore and former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Biography

Background

Nimziki grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and was the son of an agronomist. He attended Georgetown University, where he earned a double major in criminology and international relations. Nimziki joined the CIA in which he proved himself to be a highly efficient administrator, and steadily rose through the agency's ranks and eventually became Director of the CIA. He was among the few selected people who were aware of extraterrestrial life from the Roswell incident under Project Smudge. During the fallout of the Watergate scandal in 1972, Nimziki successfully proposed having every extraterrestrial-related information and asset placed under his purview.

Nimziki served under four presidential administrations, including the Whitmore Administration. During his term as Secretary of Defense under President Whitmore, Nimziki was highly ambitious and he had amassed enough power similar to that of J. Edgar Hoover. He was not a likable man, in which he earned the unflattering nickname, "the Iron Sphincter."

War of 1996

By the time of the 1996 invasion, Nimziki chose not to reveal his knowledge about the aliens to the President and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He initially advocated a preemptive attack on the aliens should they show themselves as a threat, which was proven correct. Nimziki later escaped the destruction of Washington, D.C. on Air Force One. The next day, Nimziki along with Whitmore and General William Grey oversaw the military counterattack against the City Destroyers over America. However, the counterattack ended in disaster in which the alien ships were equipped with energy shields that deflected conventional weapons.

After learning the loss of NORAD to the aliens, Nimziki tried to convince Whitmore to launch a full nuclear strike against the invaders in which he believed that America's nuclear arsenal would be sufficient enough to break through the aliens' shields. Furthermore, Nimziki not only hoped for the nuclear strike would overcome the invaders and save what was left of America, but he also saw this as a political capital that would publicly vindicate him and emerging from the war as a potential new president. His advise was met with resistance from Whitmore, who was against having nuclear weapons deployed over American soil that would cause lasting collateral damages, in which Nimziki berated Whitmore's reluctance by comparing his lateness to evacuate the U.S. cities. An argument ensued between Nimziki, Grey, Whitmore, and David Levinson until the latter's father, Julius Levinson, interrupted and accused the President and his advisors of having previously known of alien life and done nothing about it. At this moment, Nimziki reluctantly revealed to Whitmore the existence of Area 51 and his knowledge about the aliens.

Nimziki and the others traveled and settled at Area 51. Nimziki was confronted by Grey, who derided him for refusing to disclose information about the aliens and thereby costing the lives of many American pilots in the failed counterattack. Nimziki tried to defend his secrecy by claiming it was classified, and he assumed the counterattack would be more effective.

On the night of July 3, a captured alien revealed to Whitmore of its kinds' intentions to harvest Earth's natural resources at the cost of wiping out its inhabitants, which forced Whitmore to concede to Nimziki's advice by finally ordering a nuclear strike. But an attempt on one of the City Destroyers above Houston failed to penetrate its shield. Nimziki was left very disappointed by the results and tried to pursue Whitmore for further nuclear strikes that he still believed could break through the Destroyer's shields. But Whitmore called off the remaining strikes.

During the next day, Nimziki was present to learn from David Levinson's discovery of disabling the aliens' shields and his proposal to launch a renewed counteroffensive. Nimziki was left deeply skeptical of Levinson's plan and urged Whitmore to dismiss it by arguing that they do not have enough available manpower and coordination to launch such an assault while doubting Area 51's captured alien spacecraft capable of flying and the pilot qualified to fly it. However, Nimziki was quickly proven wrong after Levinson demonstrated the vessel to be fully operational, and USMC Captain Steven Hiller volunteered to be its pilot. Whitmore approved the plan.

Nimziki, in a last ditch effort, again tried to make another appeal to Whitmore to scuttle Levinson's plan. But Whitmore had enough of Nimziki and his obstructive antics with him trying to invoke the memory of his wife who had just died earlier being the last straw, stating to him of his mistake for "appointing a sniveling little weasel like [him] as [his] Secretary of Defense" and promptly had him fired much to Nimziki's shock.

During the aliens' attack on Area 51, Nimziki found himself invited by Julius Levinson to join his prayer reading. Although Nimziki professed that he is not Jewish, Julius does not mind it at all.

Post-War

Shortly after humanity's victory against the aliens, Nimziki apologized to Whitmore and in turn he was allowed to worked on the American Reconstruction Committee, serving as General Grey's chief assistant. Nimziki later attempted to run for office in the 2000 presidential election but only to lose in a landslide victory by Grey.

Gallery

Memorable Quotes

Nimziki: "I spoke with the Joint Chiefs when they arrived at NORAD. They agree we must launch a counteroffensive with a full nuclear strike."

Whitmore: "Over American soil? You're saying at this point we should sacrifice more innocent American civilians. Is that right?"

Nimziki: "Sir, if we don't strike soon, there may not be much of an America left to defend."

— Nimziki urging Whitmore for a nuclear strike against the aliens.

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"Uh, excuse me. Mr. President? That's not entirely accurate."

―Nimziki reluctantly telling the truth of Area 51.

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"Two words, Mr. President. Plausible deniability."

―Nimziki to President Whitmore on Area 51's secrecy.

Appearances

• Independence Day/novel
• ID4: Independence Day
• Independence Day: Silent Zone
• Independence Day: Crucible (mentioned)

Trivia

• According to James Rebhorn, he compares Albert Nimziki to Oliver North, who served under Ronald Reagan and was known for his role in the Iran-Contra scandal, describing him for firmly believing that everything he does is ultimately for the good of his country.
• Nimziki's firing lampoons Joe Nimziki, MGM's head of advertising who reportedly accounted for unpleasant experiences for Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich when studio executives forced recuts of Stargate.
• Despite Nimziki's claim that Whitmore cannot fire him, the President of the United States is actually able to dismiss Cabinet members from their position if need be without Senate approval, per the Supreme Court ruling of Myer v. United States.