Russell Rourke, 71; Legislative Specialist in Defense Dept. in 1980s

Russell Rourke, 71, a Defense Department official who played an important role in the Reagan administration’s defense build-up policy of the early 1980s, died Jan. 19 of malignant melanoma at Anne Arundel Medical Center near his Annapolis, Md., home.

Rourke, who held political science and law degrees from the University of Maryland and Georgetown University, respectively, was a Marine and held the rank of colonel when he retired from its reserves in 1985.

He worked as an aide to three different congressmen and in the Gerald Ford White House.

In 1981, after Ronald Reagan’s inauguration, Rourke joined the Defense Department as assistant secretary for legislative affairs, serving as principal advisor to Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger on defense legislation before Congress.

Rourke played a major role in persuading members of Congress to deploy the Pershing II missile to Europe at a time of strong opposition. The missile, which carried a nuclear warhead, was considered a huge step forward in modernized tactical nuclear weapons, and Rourke helped sell it as a deterrent against the Soviets.

Rourke served five months, from late 1985 until April 1986, as secretary of the Air Force.

Later, he was president of Orion Group, an aerospace consulting business. He also had a family real estate development firm, and owned and raced thoroughbred horses.