Eli Segal, 63; Assistant to President Clinton, Democratic Operative

Eli J. Segal, a Democratic political operative who helped run Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign and then joined Clinton’s White House staff, died Monday at his home in Boston. He was 63.

Segal had mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer linked to exposure to asbestos, his family said.

Segal’s political pedigree extended to the 1968 anti-Vietnam War presidential campaign of Minnesota Sen. Eugene McCarthy. Through his political friendships, he was invited to have significant roles in a series of Democratic presidential campaigns, all of them unsuccessful until Clinton’s.

Clinton, who was governor of Arkansas and knew Segal through their work on Sen. George McGovern’s presidential campaign in 1972, asked Segal to join his campaign as chief of staff, managing hiring, fundraising and outreach to businesses.

He was particularly good at helping Clinton win support from corporate executives, which aided Clinton’s reputation as a market-oriented centrist.

Segal had proved himself able as an entrepreneur. At age 28, he began working for Miles Rubin, a prolific Democratic donor who ran the defense company Pioneer Systems Inc.

Over the years, Segal became chief executive of several companies, including Vogart Crafts Corp., a manufacturer of yarn and crafts and a subsidiary of Pioneer Systems; American Publishing Corp., which produced games and puzzles; and Bits & Pieces, a mail-order game catalog. In 1990, he acquired a bankrupt magazine called Games and soon steered it to profitability.

In the Clinton White House, Segal held the title of assistant to the president. One of his major accomplishments was handling the legislation that created the Corporation for National and Community Service, commonly called AmeriCorps.

Starting in 1993, Segal served three years as the first chief executive of AmeriCorps, which pays college tuition for young people in return for community service.

Hundreds of thousands have served in the program.

In Clinton’s second term, Segal was asked to head the Welfare to Work Partnership, a not-for-profit group spawned from massive welfare reform legislation. Segal worked to encourage businesses to hire people coming off welfare rolls.

Shortly after stepping down in 2000, he received the Presidential Citizens Medal for service to the nation.

A native of Brooklyn, Eli Jay Segal graduated from Brandeis University and earned his law degree at the University of Michigan.

Survivors include his wife of 39 years, Phyllis Nichamoff Segal of Boston; two children; two grandchildren; and a brother.