# United States Secretary of the Navy

The secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer (10 U.S.C. § 8013) and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense.
By law, the secretary of the Navy must be a civilian at least five years removed from active military service. The secretary is appointed by the president and requires confirmation by the Senate.
The secretary of the Navy was, from its creation in 1798, a member of the president's Cabinet until 1949, when the secretary of the Navy (and the secretaries of the Army and Air Force) were by amendments to the National Security Act of 1947 made subordinate to the secretary of defense.
On August 7, 2021, Carlos Del Toro was confirmed as secretary of the Navy.
From 2001 to 2019, proposals to rename the Department of the Navy to the Department of the Navy and Marine Corps, which would have also renamed the secretary of the Navy to the secretary of the Navy and Marine Corps, were introduced with wide support in the United States Congress, but failed due to the opposition of Senator and retired U.S. Navy officer John McCain.

## Responsibilities

The Department of the Navy (DoN) consists of two uniformed services: the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. The secretary of the Navy is responsible for, and has statutory authority (10 U.S.C. § 8013) to "conduct all the affairs of the Department of the Navy", i.e. as its chief executive officer, subject to the limits of the law, and the directions of the president and the secretary of defense. In effect, all authority within the Navy and Marine Corps, unless specifically exempted by law, is derivative of the authority vested in the secretary of the Navy.
Specifically enumerated responsibilities of the SECNAV in the aforementioned section are: recruiting, organizing, supplying, equipping, training, mobilizing, and demobilizing. The secretary also oversees the construction, outfitting, and repair of naval ships, equipment, and facilities. SECNAV is responsible for the formulation and implementation of policies and programs that are consistent with the national security policies and objectives established by the president or the secretary of defense.
The secretary of the Navy is a member of the Defense Acquisition Board (DAB), chaired by the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. Furthermore, the secretary has several statutory responsibilities under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) with respect to the administration of the military justice system for the Navy & the Marine Corps, including the authority to convene general courts-martial and to commute sentences.
The principal military advisers to the SECNAV are the two service chiefs of the naval services: for matters regarding the Navy the chief of naval operations (CNO), and for matters regarding the Marine Corps the commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC). The CNO and the Commandant act as the principal executive agents of the SECNAV within their respective services to implement the orders of the secretary.

### Navy Regulations

The United States Navy Regulations is the principal regulatory document of the Department of the Navy, and all changes to it must be approved by the secretary of the Navy.

### U.S. Coast Guard

Whenever the United States Coast Guard operates as a service within the Department of the Navy, the secretary of the Navy has the same powers and duties with respect to the Coast Guard as the secretary of homeland security when the Coast Guard is not operating as a service in the Department of the Navy.

## The Navy Secretariat

The Office of the Secretary of the Navy, also known within DoD as the Navy Secretariat or simply just as the Secretariat in a DoN setting, is the immediate headquarters staff that supports the secretary in discharging his duties. The principal officials of the Secretariat include the under secretary of the Navy (the secretary's principal civilian deputy), the assistant secretaries of the Navy (ASN), the general counsel of the Navy, the judge advocate general of the Navy (JAG), the Naval inspector general (NIG), the chief of Legislative Affairs, and the chief of naval research. The Office of the Secretary of the Navy has sole responsibility within the Department of the Navy for acquisition, auditing, financial and information management, legislative affairs, and public affairs.
Pursuant to SecNavInst 5090.5F, the Department of the Navy Environmental Programs Manual, the secretary of the Navy and chief of naval operations recognize a number of commands annually for achievements in such areas as environmental quality, environmental cleanup, natural resources conservation, cultural resources management, pollution prevention, and recycling.
The chief of naval operations and the commandant of the Marine Corps have their own separate staffs, the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (also known by its acronym OPNAV) and Headquarters Marine Corps.

## Secretaries of the Navy
### Continental Congress

| Position | Name | Term of office |
| Chairman of the Marine Committee | John Adams | 13 October 1775 – 1779 |
| Member of the Marine Committee | John Langdon | 13 October 1775–? |
| Member of the Marine Committee | Silas Deane | 13 October 1775–? |
| Member of the Marine Committee | Joseph Hewes | 1775 |
| Continental Navy Board (under Marine Committee) | | 6 November 1776 – 28 October 1779 |
| Chairman of the Continental Board of Admiralty | Francis Lewis | December 1779 – 1780 |
| Secretary of Marine | Alexander McDougall | 7 February 1781 – 29 August 1781 |
| Agent of Marine (devolved onto Superintendent of Finance) | Robert Morris | 29 August 1781 – 1784 |
(Post of Secretary of Marine created but remained vacant)

### Executive Department, 1798–1949

| No. | Name | State | Start | End | President(s) |
| 1 | Benjamin Stoddert | Maryland | 18 June 1798 | 31 March 1801 | John Adams (1797–1801) |
| 1 | Benjamin Stoddert | Maryland | 18 June 1798 | 31 March 1801 | Thomas Jefferson (1801–1809) |
| 2 | Robert Smith | Maryland | 27 July 1801 | 4 March 1809 | Thomas Jefferson (1801–1809) |
| 3 | Paul Hamilton | South Carolina | 15 May 1809 | 31 December 1812 | James Madison (1809–1817) |
| 4 | William Jones | Pennsylvania | 19 January 1813 | 1 December 1814 | James Madison (1809–1817) |
| 5 | Benjamin Crowninshield | Massachusetts | 16 January 1815 | 30 September 1818 | James Madison (1809–1817) |
| 5 | Benjamin Crowninshield | Massachusetts | 16 January 1815 | 30 September 1818 | James Monroe (1817–1825) |
| 6 | Smith Thompson | New York | 1 January 1819 | 31 August 1823 | James Monroe (1817–1825) |
| 7 | Samuel L. Southard | New Jersey | 16 September 1823 | 4 March 1829 | James Monroe (1817–1825) |
| 7 | Samuel L. Southard | New Jersey | 16 September 1823 | 4 March 1829 | John Quincy Adams (1825–1829) |
| 8 | John Branch | North Carolina | 9 March 1829 | 12 May 1831 | Andrew Jackson (1829–1837) |
| 9 | Levi Woodbury | New Hampshire | 23 May 1831 | 30 June 1834 | Andrew Jackson (1829–1837) |
| 10 | Mahlon Dickerson | New Jersey | 1 July 1834 | 30 June 1838 | Andrew Jackson (1829–1837) |
| 10 | Mahlon Dickerson | New Jersey | 1 July 1834 | 30 June 1838 | Martin Van Buren (1837–1841) |
| 11 | James K. Paulding | New York | 1 July 1838 | 4 March 1841 | Martin Van Buren (1837–1841) |
| 12 | George E. Badger | North Carolina | 6 March 1841 | 11 September 1841 | William Henry Harrison (1841) |
| 12 | George E. Badger | North Carolina | 6 March 1841 | 11 September 1841 | John Tyler (1841–1845) |
| 13 | Abel P. Upshur | Virginia | 11 October 1841 | 23 July 1843 | John Tyler (1841–1845) |
| 14 | David Henshaw | Massachusetts | 24 July 1843 | 18 February 1844 | John Tyler (1841–1845) |
| 15 | Thomas W. Gilmer | Virginia | 19 February 1844 | 28 February 1844 | John Tyler (1841–1845) |
| 16 | John Y. Mason | Virginia | 26 March 1844 | 4 March 1845 | John Tyler (1841–1845) |
| 17 | George Bancroft | Massachusetts | 11 March 1845 | 9 September 1846 | James K. Polk (1845–1849) |
| 18 | John Y. Mason | Virginia | 10 September 1846 | 4 March 1849 | James K. Polk (1845–1849) |
| 19 | William B. Preston | Virginia | 8 March 1849 | 22 July 1850 | Zachary Taylor (1849–1850) |
| 20 | William Graham | North Carolina | 2 August 1850 | 25 July 1852 | Millard Fillmore (1850–1853) |
| 21 | John P. Kennedy | Maryland | 26 July 1852 | 4 March 1853 | Millard Fillmore (1850–1853) |
| 22 | James C. Dobbin | North Carolina | 8 March 1853 | 4 March 1857 | Franklin Pierce (1853–1857) |
| 23 | Isaac Toucey | Connecticut | 7 March 1857 | 4 March 1861 | James Buchanan (1857–1861) |
| 24 | Gideon Welles | Connecticut | 7 March 1861 | 4 March 1869 | Abraham Lincoln (1861–1865) |
| 24 | Gideon Welles | Connecticut | 7 March 1861 | 4 March 1869 | Andrew Johnson (1865–1869) |
| 25 | Adolph E. Borie | Pennsylvania | 9 March 1869 | 25 June 1869 | Ulysses S. Grant (1869–1877) |
| 26 | George M. Robeson | New Jersey | 26 June 1869 | 4 March 1877 | Ulysses S. Grant (1869–1877) |
| Acting | William Faxon | | 4 March 1877 | 13 March 1877 | Rutherford B. Hayes (1877–1881) |
| 27 | Richard W. Thompson | Indiana | 13 March 1877 | 20 December 1880 | Rutherford B. Hayes (1877–1881) |
| 28 | Nathan Goff Jr. | West Virginia | 7 January 1881 | 4 March 1881 | Rutherford B. Hayes (1877–1881) |
| 29 | William H. Hunt | Louisiana | 7 March 1881 | 16 April 1882 | James A. Garfield (1881) |
| 29 | William H. Hunt | Louisiana | 7 March 1881 | 16 April 1882 | Chester A. Arthur (1881–1885) |
| 30 | William E. Chandler | New Hampshire | 16 April 1882 | 4 March 1885 | Chester A. Arthur (1881–1885) |
| 31 | William C. Whitney | New York | 7 March 1885 | 4 March 1889 | Grover Cleveland (1885–1889) |
| 32 | Benjamin F. Tracy | New York | 6 March 1889 | 4 March 1893 | Benjamin Harrison (1889–1893) |
| 33 | Hilary A. Herbert | Alabama | 7 March 1893 | 4 March 1897 | Grover Cleveland (1893–1897) |
| 34 | John Davis Long | Massachusetts | 6 March 1897 | 30 April 1902 | William McKinley (1897–1901) |
| 34 | John Davis Long | Massachusetts | 6 March 1897 | 30 April 1902 | Theodore Roosevelt (1901–1909) |
| 35 | William Moody | Massachusetts | 1 May 1902 | 30 June 1904 | Theodore Roosevelt (1901–1909) |
| 36 | Paul Morton | Illinois | 1 July 1904 | 30 June 1905 | Theodore Roosevelt (1901–1909) |
| 37 | Charles Bonaparte | Maryland | 1 July 1905 | 16 December 1906 | Theodore Roosevelt (1901–1909) |
| 38 | Victor H. Metcalf | California | 17 December 1906 | 30 November 1908 | Theodore Roosevelt (1901–1909) |
| 39 | Truman Handy Newberry | Michigan | 1 December 1908 | 4 March 1909 | Theodore Roosevelt (1901–1909) |
| 40 | George von Lengerke Meyer | Massachusetts | 6 March 1909 | 4 March 1913 | William Howard Taft (1909–1913) |
| 41 | Josephus Daniels | North Carolina | 5 March 1913 | 4 March 1921 | Woodrow Wilson (1913–1921) |
| 42 | Edwin Denby | Michigan | 6 March 1921 | 10 March 1924 | Warren G. Harding (1921–1923) |
| 42 | Edwin Denby | Michigan | 6 March 1921 | 10 March 1924 | Calvin Coolidge (1923–1929) |
| Acting | Theodore Roosevelt Jr. | | 10 March 1924 | 19 March 1924 | Calvin Coolidge (1923–1929) |
| 43 | Curtis D. Wilbur | California | 19 March 1924 | 4 March 1929 | Calvin Coolidge (1923–1929) |
| 44 | Charles Francis Adams III | Massachusetts | 5 March 1929 | 4 March 1933 | Herbert Hoover (1929–1933) |
| 45 | Claude A. Swanson | Virginia | 4 March 1933 | 7 July 1939 | Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945) |
| 46 | Charles Edison | New Jersey | 7 July 1939 | 2 January 1940 | Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945) |
| 46 | Charles Edison | New Jersey | 2 January 1940 | 24 June 1940 | Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945) |
| Acting | Lewis Compton | | 24 June 1940 | 11 July 1940 | Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945) |
| 47 | Frank Knox | Illinois | 11 July 1940 | 28 April 1944 | Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945) |
| Acting | Ralph Austin Bard | | 28 April 1944 | 19 May 1944 | Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945) |
| 48 | James Forrestal | New York | 19 May 1944 | 17 September 1947 | Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945) |
| 48 | James Forrestal | New York | 19 May 1944 | 17 September 1947 | Harry S. Truman (1945–1953) |
| 49 | John Sullivan | New Hampshire | 18 September 1947 | 24 May 1949 | Harry S. Truman (1945–1953) |
| 50 | Francis P. Matthews | Nebraska | 25 May 1949 | 10 August 1949 | Harry S. Truman (1945–1953) |

### Military Department (Department of Defense), 1949–present

| No. | Portrait | Name | Term of office | Term of office | Term of office | President(s) | President(s) |
| No. | Portrait | Name | Start | End | Duration | President(s) | President(s) |
| 50 | | Francis P. Matthews | 10 August 1949 | 31 July 1951 | 797 | | Harry S. Truman (1945–1953) |
| 51 | | Dan A. Kimball | 31 July 1951 | 20 January 1953 | 539 | | Harry S. Truman (1945–1953) |
| 52 | | Robert Anderson | 4 February 1953 | 3 March 1954 | 392 | | Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961) |
| 53 | | Charles Thomas | 3 May 1954 | 1 April 1957 | 1064 | | Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961) |
| 54 | | Thomas S. Gates Jr. | 1 April 1957 | 8 June 1959 | 798 | | Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961) |
| 55 | | William B. Franke | 8 June 1959 | 19 January 1961 | 591 | | Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961) |
| 56 | | John Connally | 25 January 1961 | 20 December 1961 | 329 | | John F. Kennedy (1961–1963) |
| 57 | | Fred Korth | 4 January 1962 | 1 November 1963 | 666 | | John F. Kennedy (1961–1963) |
| Acting | | Paul B. Fay | 2 November 1963 | 28 November 1963 | 26 |
| Acting | | Paul B. Fay | 2 November 1963 | 28 November 1963 | 26 | | Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969) |
| 58 | | Paul Nitze | 29 November 1963 | 30 June 1967 | 1309 | | Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969) |
| Acting | | Charles F. Baird | 1 July 1967 | 31 August 1967 | 61 | | Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969) |
| 59 | | Paul Ignatius | 1 September 1967 | 24 January 1969 | 511 |
| 59 | | Paul Ignatius | 1 September 1967 | 24 January 1969 | 511 | | Richard Nixon (1969–1974) |
| 60 | | John Chafee | 31 January 1969 | 4 May 1972 | 1189 | | Richard Nixon (1969–1974) |
| 61 | | John Warner | 4 May 1972 | 8 April 1974 | 704 | | Richard Nixon (1969–1974) |
| 62 | | J. William Middendorf | 8 April 1974 | 20 January 1977 | 1018 | | Richard Nixon (1969–1974) |
| 62 | | J. William Middendorf | 8 April 1974 | 20 January 1977 | 1018 | | Gerald Ford (1974–1977) |
| 63 | | W. Graham Claytor Jr. | 14 February 1977 | 24 August 1979 | 921 | | Jimmy Carter (1977–1981) |
| 64 | | Edward Hidalgo | 24 October 1979 | 20 January 1981 | 454 | | Jimmy Carter (1977–1981) |
| 65 | | John Lehman | 5 February 1981 | 10 April 1987 | 2255 | | Ronald Reagan (1981–1989) |
| 66 | | Jim Webb | 1 May 1987 | 23 February 1988 | 298 | | Ronald Reagan (1981–1989) |
| 67 | | William L. Ball | 28 March 1988 | 15 May 1989 | 413 | | Ronald Reagan (1981–1989) |
| 67 | | William L. Ball | 28 March 1988 | 15 May 1989 | 413 | | George H. W. Bush (1989–1993) |
| 68 | | Henry L. Garrett III | 15 May 1989 | 26 June 1992 | 1138 | | George H. W. Bush (1989–1993) |
| Acting | | Daniel Howard | 26 June 1992 | 7 July 1992 | 11 | | George H. W. Bush (1989–1993) |
| 69 | | Sean O'Keefe | 7 July 1992 | 2 October 1992 | 87 | | George H. W. Bush (1989–1993) |
| 69 | | Sean O'Keefe | 2 October 1992 | 20 January 1993 | 110 | | George H. W. Bush (1989–1993) |
| Acting | | Frank Kelso | 20 January 1993 | 21 July 1993 | 182 | | Bill Clinton (1993–2001) |
| 70 | | John H. Dalton | 22 July 1993 | 16 November 1998 | 1943 | | Bill Clinton (1993–2001) |
| 71 | | Richard Danzig | 16 November 1998 | 20 January 2001 | 796 | | Bill Clinton (1993–2001) |
| Acting | | Robert B. Pirie Jr. | 20 January 2001 | 24 May 2001 | 124 | | George W. Bush (2001–2009) |
| 72 | | Gordon R. England | 24 May 2001 | 30 January 2003 | 616 | | George W. Bush (2001–2009) |
| Acting | | Susan Livingstone | 30 January 2003 | 7 February 2003 | 8 | | George W. Bush (2001–2009) |
| Acting | | Hansford T. Johnson | 7 February 2003 | 30 September 2003 | 235 | | George W. Bush (2001–2009) |
| 73 | | Gordon R. England | 1 October 2003 | 29 December 2005 | 820 | | George W. Bush (2001–2009) |
| Acting | | Dionel M. Aviles | 29 December 2005 | 3 January 2006 | 5 | | George W. Bush (2001–2009) |
| 74 | | Donald C. Winter | 3 January 2006 | 13 March 2009 | 1165 | | George W. Bush (2001–2009) |
| 74 | | Donald C. Winter | 3 January 2006 | 13 March 2009 | 1165 | | Barack Obama (2009–2017) |
| Acting | | B. J. Penn | 13 March 2009 | 19 May 2009 | 67 | | Barack Obama (2009–2017) |
| 75 | | Ray Mabus | 19 May 2009 | 20 January 2017 | 2803 | | Barack Obama (2009–2017) |
| Acting | | Sean Stackley | 20 January 2017 | 3 August 2017 | 195 | | Donald Trump (2017–2021) |
| 76 | | Richard V. Spencer | 3 August 2017 | 15 July 2019 | 711 | | Donald Trump (2017–2021) |
| Acting | | Thomas Modly | 15 July 2019 | 31 July 2019 | 16 | | Donald Trump (2017–2021) |
| 76 | | Richard V. Spencer | 31 July 2019 | 24 November 2019 | 116 | | Donald Trump (2017–2021) |
| Acting | | Thomas Modly | 24 November 2019 | 7 April 2020 | 135 | | Donald Trump (2017–2021) |
| Acting | | James E. McPherson | 7 April 2020 | 29 May 2020 | 52 | | Donald Trump (2017–2021) |
| 77 | | Kenneth Braithwaite | 29 May 2020 | 20 January 2021 | 236 | | Donald Trump (2017–2021) |
| Acting | | Thomas Harker | 20 January 2021 | 9 August 2021 | 201 | | Joe Biden (2021–2025) |
| 78 | | Carlos Del Toro | 9 August 2021 | 20 January 2025 | 1260 | | Joe Biden (2021–2025) |
| Acting | | Terence Emmert | 20 January 2025 | Incumbent | 24 | | Donald Trump (2025–present) |