Hugh Heclo (10 March 1943 – 6 August 2017)[1] was born in Marion, Ohio.
[2] Heclo was a Clarence J. Robinson Professor of Public Affairs at George Mason University, in the United States from 1987 until retirement in 2014.
Heclo is perhaps best known as an expert on American democratic institutions and the development of modern welfare states.
In 1978, he invented the concept of an issue network, used to describe loose alliances between interest groups, organizations, and economic actors that attempt to influence policy development.
In addition to his many academic accomplishments, Heclo received many awards and accolades, including the American Political Science Association's John Gaus Award, recognizing and honoring exemplary scholarship in the joint tradition of political science and public administration.