On 1 December 2008, President-elect Barack Obama named sitting Secretary of Defense Robert Gates as his nominee. If confirmed, Gates will be one a handful of people to hold a Cabinet-level position under two Presidents of different parties.
Gates, the 22nd U.S. Secretary of Defense, assumed office on 18 December 2006 after bi-partisan confirmation support. Prior to assuming this position, he was the President of Texas A&M University, the nation’s seventh largest university. Gates served as Director of Central Intelligence from 1991 until 1993; he was Deputy National Security Adviser at the George H.W. Bush White House from 20 January 1989 until 6 November 1991. He is the only career officer in CIA’s history to rise from entry-level employee to Director. He is also a United States Air Force (USAF) veteran.
A native of Wichita, KS, Gates studied history at the College of William and Mary; received a master's degree in history from Indiana University; and completed a Ph.D. in Russian and Soviet history from Georgetown University. In 1996, he authored a memoir: From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insiders Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War.
The Secretary of Defense is the principal defense policy advisor to the President. By statute (10 U.S.C. § 113), the Secretary must be a civilian and must not have been an active member of the armed forces for at least 10 years. The Secretary of Defense is sixth in the presidential line of succession.
The Secretary of Defense is a post-World War II position, created in 1947 when the Navy, Army and Air Force were merged into the National Military Establishment. In 1949, the National Military Establishment was renamed the Department of Defense.
Gates, the 22nd U.S. Secretary of Defense, assumed office on 18 December 2006 after bi-partisan confirmation support. Prior to assuming this position, he was the President of Texas A&M University, the nation’s seventh largest university. Gates served as Director of Central Intelligence from 1991 until 1993; he was Deputy National Security Adviser at the George H.W. Bush White House from 20 January 1989 until 6 November 1991. He is the only career officer in CIA’s history to rise from entry-level employee to Director. He is also a United States Air Force (USAF) veteran.
A native of Wichita, KS, Gates studied history at the College of William and Mary; received a master's degree in history from Indiana University; and completed a Ph.D. in Russian and Soviet history from Georgetown University. In 1996, he authored a memoir: From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insiders Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War.
The Secretary of Defense is the principal defense policy advisor to the President. By statute (10 U.S.C. § 113), the Secretary must be a civilian and must not have been an active member of the armed forces for at least 10 years. The Secretary of Defense is sixth in the presidential line of succession.
The Secretary of Defense is a post-World War II position, created in 1947 when the Navy, Army and Air Force were merged into the National Military Establishment. In 1949, the National Military Establishment was renamed the Department of Defense.