1947 - 2017

Historical Office

Office of the Secretary of Defense

Secretaries

of

Defense
Secretaries of Defense i

Contents

Historical Origins of the 

Secretary of Defense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii

Secretaries of Defense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Secretaries of Defense Demographics . . . . . . . . . . . 28

History of the Positional Colors

for the Office of the Secretary of Defense . . . . . . . . 29

Prepared by Dr. Shannon E. Mohan, Historian

Dr. Erin R. Mahan, Chief Historian

“The Secretary of Defense’s 

primary role is to ensure the 

national security . . . [and] it 

is one of the more difficult jobs 

anywhere in the world. He 

has to be a mini-Secretary of 

State, a procurement expert, 

a congressional relations 

expert. He has to understand 

the budget process. And he 

should have some operational 

knowledge.”

Frank C. Carlucci

former Secretary of Defense
ii Secretaries of Defense Secretaries of Defense iii

Historical Origins of the 

Secretary of Defense

The 1947 National Security Act (P.L. 80-253) 

created the position of Secretary of Defense with 

authority to establish general policies and programs 

for the National Military Establishment. Under the 

law, the Secretary of Defense served as the principal 

assistant to the President in all matters relating to 

national security.

The 1949 National Security Act Amendments (P.L. 81-

216) redefined the Secretary of Defense’s role as the 

President’s principal assistant in all matters relating to 

the Department of Defense and gave him full direction, 

authority, and control over the Department.

Under the 1947 law and the 1949 Amendments, the 

Secretary was appointed from civilian life provided he 

had not been on active duty as a commissioned officer 

within ten years of his nomination.

In order for General George C. Marshall to serve as 

Secretary of Defense in 1950, Congress passed P.L. 

81-788 waiving the restriction against nominating an 

active-duty commissioned officer. This law was only 

effective for the duration of General Marshall’s term 

as Secretary. General James Mattis received a similar 

waiver through P.L. 115-2 in 2017.

Several Defense Department reorganization plans, 

including Reorganization Plan No. 6 (1953), the 

Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1958 

(P.L. 85-599), and the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 

1986 (P.L. 99-433), strengthened the Secretary of 

Defense’s authority.

Public Law 110-181, the National Defense 

Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, amended the 

eligibility requirements for the Secretary and Deputy 

Secretary of Defense. The Secretary and Deputy may 

not have been on active duty as commissioned officers 

within seven years of their nominations.

James V. Forrestal is sworn in as the first Secretary of Defense, September 

1947. (OSD Historical Office)

Secretary of Defense Neil H. McElroy briefs the press. (OSD Historical 

Office)

Secretary of Defense Clark M. Clifford’s last day in the Pentagon. (OSD 

Historical Office)
Secretaries of Defense 1

1947 - 2017

Secretaries

of

Defense

Truman Administration

James V. Forrestal

1ST SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

17 September 1947– 28 March 1949

• Attended Princeton University

• Served in the U.S. Naval Reserve, 1917– 1919

• Investment Banker, Dillon, Read and Company, 

1916 –1917; 1919 –1940

• Special Assistant to President Franklin D. 

Roosevelt, 1940

• Under Secretary of the Navy, 1940 –1944

• Secretary of the Navy, 1944 –1947

• Died, 22 May 1949
2 Secretaries of Defense Secretaries of Defense 3

Truman Administration Truman Administration

Louis A. Johnson

2ND SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

28 March 1949–19 September 1950

• LL.B., University of Virginia (1912)

• Founding partner, Steptoe & Johnson, 1912

• Delegate, Virginia House of Delegates, 

1916–1917

• Served in the U.S. Army, 1917–1919

• Assistant Secretary of War, 1937–1940

• Practiced law, 1940–1949

• President Roosevelt’s personal representative to 

India, 1942

• Died, 24 April 1966

George C. Marshall

3RD SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

21 September 1950–12 September 1951

• Diploma, Virginia Military Institute (1901)

• Commissioned second lieutenant, U.S. Army, 1902

• Served in the Philippines and U.S. posts, 1902–1916

• Assistant Chief of Staff, American Expeditionary 

Force, France, 1917–1918

• Aide-de-Camp to Gen. John J. Pershing, 1919–1924

• Commanding Officer, 15th Infantry, Tientsin, China, 

1924–1927

• Assistant Chief of Staff, War Plans Division; Deputy 

Chief of Staff, War Department, 1938–1939

• Army Chief of Staff, 1939–1945

• Special Representative of the President to China, 

1945–1946

• Promoted to General of the Army, 1946

• Secretary of State, 1947–1949

• President, American National Red Cross, 1949–1950

• Died, 16 October 1959
4 Secretaries of Defense Secretaries of Defense 5

Truman Administration Eisenhower Administration

Charles E. Wilson

5TH SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

28 January 1953– 8 October 1957

• E.E., Carnegie Institute of Technology (1909)

• Engineer, Westinghouse Electric Company, 

1909–1919

• Chief Engineer; General Manager, Remy 

Electric, 1919–1924; 1925

• President and General Manager, Delco-Remy, 

1926–1928

• Vice President, General Motors, 1929–1939

• Executive Vice President, General Motors, 

1939–1941

• President, General Motors, 1941–1953

• Died, 26 September 1961

Robert A. Lovett

4TH SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

17 September 1951–20 January 1953

• B.A., Yale (1918)

• Served in the U.S. Navy, 1917–1919

• Partner, Brown Brothers Harriman and 

Company, 1926–1940; 1946–1947; 1949–1950

• Special Assistant to the Secretary of War, 

1940–1941

• Assistant to the Secretary of War for Air, 

1941–1945

• Under Secretary of State, 1947–1949

• Deputy Secretary of Defense, 4 October 1950 –

16 September 1951

• Died, 7 May 1986
6 Secretaries of Defense Secretaries of Defense 7

Eisenhower Administration Eisenhower Administration

Thomas S. Gates, Jr.

7TH SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

2 December 1959–20 January 1961

• B.A., University of Pennsylvania (1928)

• Partner, Drexel and Company, 1940

• Served in the U.S. Naval Reserve, 1942–1945

• Under Secretary of the Navy, 1953–1957

• Secretary of the Navy, 1957–1959

• Deputy Secretary of Defense, 8 June 1959 –

1 December 1959

• Chief, U.S. Liaison Office to the People’s 

Republic of China, 1976–1977

• Died, 25 March 1983

Neil H. McElroy

6TH SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

9 October 1957–1 December 1959

• B.A., Harvard University (1925)

• Staff member, Advertising Department, Proctor 

and Gamble, 1925–1929

• Management positions, Proctor and Gamble, 

1929–1948

• President, Proctor and Gamble, 1948–1957

• Chairman, White House Conference on 

Education, 1954 –1955

• Chairman of the Board, Proctor and Gamble, 

1959–1972

• Died, 30 November 1972
8 Secretaries of Defense Secretaries of Defense 9

Kennedy/Johnson Administrations Johnson Administration

Clark M. Clifford

9TH SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

1 March 1968 –20 January 1969

• LL.B., Washington University (1928)

• Practiced law in St. Louis, 1928–1943

• Served in the U.S. Naval Reserve, 1943–1946

• Special Counsel to the President, 1946–1950

• Senior partner, Clifford & Miller, 1950–1968

• Member and Chairman, Foreign Intelligence 

Advisory Board, 1961–1968

• Senior partner, Clifford & Warnke, 1969–1991

• Died, 10 October 1998

Robert S. McNamara

8TH SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

21 January 1961–29 February 1968

• B.A., University of California at Berkeley 

(1937); M.B.A., Harvard Graduate School of 

Business Administration (1939)

• Faculty, Harvard Graduate School of Business 

Administration, 1940–1943

• Served in the U.S. Army Air Forces, 1943–1946

• Management positions, Ford Motor Company, 

1946–1960

• President, Ford Motor Company, 1960 –1961

• President, World Bank, 1968–1981

• Died, 6 July 2009
10 Secretaries of Defense Secretaries of Defense 11

Nixon Administration Nixon Administration

Elliot L. Richardson

11TH SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

30 January 1973–24 May 1973

• A.B., Harvard College (1941); LL.B., Harvard Law 

School (1947)

• Served in the U.S. Army, 1942–1945

• Practiced law, 1947–1953; 1955–1956; 1961–1964

• Assistant Secretary for Legislation, Department of 

Health, Education and Welfare, 1957–1959; Acting 

Secretary, 1958

• U.S. Attorney, Department of Justice, District of 

Massachusetts, 1959–1961

• Lt. Governor; Attorney General, State of 

Massachusetts, 1965 –1967; 1967–1969

• Under Secretary of State, 1969–1970

• Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, 1970–1973

• United States Attorney General, 1973

• Ambassador to Great Britain, 1975–1976

• Secretary of Commerce, 1976–1977

• Died, 31 December 1999

Melvin R. Laird

10TH SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

22 January 1969–29 January 1973

• B.A., Carleton College (1944)

• Served in the U.S. Navy, 1942–1946

• Wisconsin State Senator, 1946 –1952

• U.S. Representative from Wisconsin, 1953–1969

• Counselor to the President for Domestic Affairs, 

1973–1974

• Senior counselor for national and international 

affairs, Reader’s Digest Association, 1974 –2016

• Died, 16 November 2016
12 Secretaries of Defense Secretaries of Defense 13

Nixon/Ford Administrations Ford Administration

Donald H. Rumsfeld

13TH SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

20 November 1975–20 January 1977

• B.A., Princeton University (1954)

• Served in the U.S. Navy, 1954 –1957

• Administrative Assistant to Rep. Dave Dennison 

(R-OH), 1958–1959

• Staff Assistant to Rep. Robert Griffin (R-MI), 

1959–1960

• U.S. Representative from Illinois, 1962–1969

• Assistant to the President; Director, Office of 

Economic Opportunity, 1969–1970

• Counselor to the President, 1970–1971

• Director, Cost of Living Council, 1971–1973

• U.S. Ambassador to NATO, 1973–1974

• White House Chief of Staff, 1974 –1975

James R. Schlesinger

12TH SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

2 July 1973–19 November 1975

• B.A. (1950), M.A. (1952), Ph.D. (1956), 

Harvard University

• Professor of Economics, University of Virginia, 

1955–1963

• Senior staff member; Director of Strategic 

Studies, RAND, 1963–1969

• Assistant Director, Bureau of the Budget, 

1969–1971

• Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission, 

1971–1973

• Director, Central Intelligence Agency, 

1973–1977

• Secretary of Energy, 1977–1979

• Died, 27 March 2014
14 Secretaries of Defense Secretaries of Defense 15

Carter Administration Reagan Administration

Caspar W. Weinberger

15TH SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

21 January 1981–23 November 1987

• A.B., Harvard College (1938); LL.B., Harvard Law 

School (1941)

• Served in the U.S. Army, 1941–1945

• Law clerk, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth 

Circuit, 1945–1947

• Practiced law, 1947–1969; 1959–1969

• California State Assemblyman, 1952 –1958

• Vice Chairman; Chairman, Republican State Central 

Committee of California, 1960–1962; 1962 –1964

• Chairman, Commission on California State 

Government Organization and Economy, 1967–1968

• Director of Finance, State of California, 1968–1970

• Chairman, Federal Trade Commission, 1970

• Deputy Director; Director, Office of Management and 

Budget, 1970 –1972; 1972–1973

• Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, 1973 –1975

• Publisher; Chairman, Forbes, 1989–2006; 1993 –2006

• Died, 28 March 2006

Harold Brown

14TH SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

21 January 1977–20 January 1981

• A.B. (1945), A.M. (1946), Ph.D. (1949), 

Columbia University

• Lecturer; research scientist, Columbia University, 

Stevens Institute of Technology; University of 

California Radiation Laboratory, 1947–1952

• Staff member; Director, Lawrence Livermore 

Laboratory, 1952–1959; 1960

• Director of Defense, Research and Engineering, 

1961–1965

• Secretary of the Air Force, 1965–1969

• President, California Institute of Technology, 

1969 –1977

• Distinguished Visiting Professor; Chairman, 

Foreign Policy Institute, Johns Hopkins 

University Nitze School of Advanced 

International Studies, 1981–1984; 1984 –1992

• Counselor, Center for Strategic and International 

Studies, 1992 –
16 Secretaries of Defense Secretaries of Defense 17

Reagan Administration Bush Administration

Richard B. Cheney

17TH SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

21 March 1989–20 January 1993

• B.A. (1965); M.A. (1966), University of Wyoming

• Joseph E. Davies Congressional Fellow, 1968 –1969

• Special Assistant to the Director of Economic 

Opportunity, 1969–1970

• Deputy to White House Counselor Donald Rumsfeld, 

1970–1971

• Assistant Director for Operations, Cost of Living 

Council, 1971–1973

• Vice President, Bradley, Woods and Company, Inc., 

1973–1974

• Deputy Assistant to the President, 1974 –1975

• Assistant to the President, White House Chief of Staff, 

1975–1977

• U.S. Representative from Wyoming, 1978–1989

• Republican Whip, U.S. House of Representatives, 1988

• Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute, 1993–1995

• Vice President of the United States, 2001–2009

Frank C. Carlucci

16TH SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

23 November 1987–20 January 1989

• A.B., Princeton (1952)

• Served in the U.S. Navy, 1952 –1954

• U.S. Foreign Service Officer, Department of State, 

1956 –1969

• Assistant Director for Operations; Director, Office 

of Economic Opportunity, 1969–1970; 1971

• Associate Director and Deputy Director, Office of 

Management and Budget, 1971–1972

• Under Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, 

1972–1974

• U.S. Ambassador to Portugal, 1974 –1978

• Deputy Director, Central Intelligence Agency, 1978–1981

• Deputy Secretary of Defense, 4 February 1981–

31 December 1982

• Assistant to the President for National Security 

Affairs, 1987

• Managing Director; Chairman; Chairman Emeritus, 

Carlyle Group, 1989; 1993; 2003
18 Secretaries of Defense Secretaries of Defense 19

Clinton Administration Clinton Administration

William J. Perry

19TH SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

3 February 1994–23 January 1997

• B.S. (1949), M.S. (1950), Stanford University; 

Ph.D., Penn State University (1957) 

• Served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1946–1947

• Served in the U.S. Army Reserve, 1950–1955

• Laboratory Director, General Telephone and 

Electronics, 1954 –1964

• Founder; President, ESL, Inc., 1964 –1977

• Under Secretary of Defense for Research and 

Engineering, 1977–1981

• Deputy Secretary of Defense, 5 March 1993 –

3 February 1994

• Michael and Barbara Berberian Professor 

Emeritus, Stanford University

• Senior Fellow, Freeman Spogli Institute; Hoover 

Institution

• Director, Preventive Defense Project

• Founder, William J. Perry Project, 2013

Leslie Aspin

18TH SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

20 January 1993–3 February 1994

• B.A., Yale University (1960); B.A., M.A., 

Oxford University (1962); Ph.D., MIT (1966)

• Served in the U.S. Army, 1966–1968

• Assistant Professor of Economics, Marquette 

University, 1969–1971

• U.S. Representative from Wisconsin, 1971–1993

• Distinguished Professor of International Policy, 

Marquette University, 1994–1995

• Member, Commission on Roles and Missions, 

1995

• Chairman, President’s Foreign Intelligence 

Advisory Board, 1995

• Chairman, Roles and Capabilities of the 

Intelligence Community, 1995

• Died, 21 May 1995
20 Secretaries of Defense Secretaries of Defense 21

Clinton Administration Bush Administration

Donald H. Rumsfeld

21ST SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

20 January 2001–18 December 2006

• White House Chief of Staff, 1974 –1975

• Secretary of Defense, 1975–1977

• CEO; President; Chairman, G.D. Searle & Co., 1977–1985

• Chairman and CEO, General Instrument Corporation, 

1990–1993

• Chairman of the Board, Gilead Sciences, Inc., 1988–2001

• Founder, Rumsfeld Foundation, 2006

William S. Cohen

20TH SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

24 January 1997–20 January 2001

• A.B., Bowdoin College (1962); LL.B., Boston 

University School of Law (1965)

• City Councilman, Bangor, Maine, 1969–1971

• Mayor, Bangor, Maine, 1971–1972

• U.S. Representative from Maine, 1973–1979

• U.S. Senator from Maine, 1979–1997

• Chairman & CEO, The Cohen Group, 2001–
22 Secretaries of Defense Secretaries of Defense 23

Bush/Obama Administrations Obama Administration

Leon E. Panetta

23RD SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

1 July 2011–26 February 2013

• B.A., (1960); J.D., Santa Clara University (1963)

• Served in the U.S. Army, 1964 –1966

• U.S. Representative from California, 1977–1993

• Director, Office of Management and Budget, 

1993 –1994

• White House Chief of Staff, 1994–1997

• Co-director, Leon & Sylvia Panetta Institute for 

Public Policy, California State University, 

1998–2009; 2013–

• Director of Central Intelligence, 2009–2011

Robert M. Gates

22ND SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

18 December 2006 –30 June 2011

• B.A., College of William and Mary (1965); M.A., 

Indiana University (1966); Ph.D., Georgetown 

University (1974)

• Served in the U.S. Air Force, 1966–1968

• CIA staff member for USSR and Europe, National 

Security Council, 1974 –1976

• CIA staff member, Center for Policy Support 

Directorate of Intelligence, 1976 –1977

• CIA Special Assistant to National Security Advisor 

Zbigniew Brzezinski, 1977–1979

• Intelligence official, Central Intelligence Agency, 1980–1986

• Deputy Director, Central Intelligence Agency, 1986–1989

• Deputy National Security Advisor, 1989–1991

• Director of Central Intelligence, 1991–1993

• Interim Dean, George Bush School of Government and 

Public Service, Texas A&M University, 1999–2001

• President, Texas A&M University, 2002 –2006

• Chancellor, College of William and Mary, 2012–
24 Secretaries of Defense Secretaries of Defense 25

Obama Administration Obama Administration

Charles T. Hagel

24TH SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

27 February 2013 –17 February 2015

• Brown Institute for Radio and TV Broadcasting 

(1966), B.A., University of Nebraska (1971)

• Served in the U.S. Army, 1967–1968

• Deputy Administrator, Veterans Administration, 

1981–1982

• Co-founder, Director, and Executive Vice 

President, Vanguard Cellular System, 1985 –1987

• President, USO, 1987–1990

• President, McCarthy and Company, 1992–1996

• U.S. Senator from Nebraska, 1997–2009

• Co-chair, President’s Intelligence Advisory 

Board, 2009–2013

• Professor, Georgetown University, 2009–2013

• RAND Corporation Board of Trustees

Ashton B. Carter

25TH SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

17 February 2015 – 20 January 2017

• B.A., Yale (1976); D.Phil., Oxford University 

(1979)

• Director, Center for Science and International 

Affairs, Harvard University, 1990–1993

• Assistant Secretary of Defense for International 

Security Policy, 1993–1996

• Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, 

Technology and Logistics, 2009–2011

• Deputy Secretary of Defense, 6 October 2011–

3 December 2013

• Senior Executive, John and Mary R. Markle 

Foundation, Inc., 2014

• Belfer Professor of Technology and Global 

Affairs; director, Belfer Center, Harvard 

University’s John F. Kennedy School of 

Government, 2017–

• Innovation fellow, Massachusetts Institute of 

Technology, 2017–
26 Secretaries of Defense Secretaries of Defense 27

Trump Administration

James N. Mattis

26TH SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

20 January 2017–Present

• B.A., Central Washington University (1971); 

M.A., National War College (1994)

• Commissioned a Marine Second Lieutenant, 1972

• Commander, 1st Marine Division, 2002–2004

• Commander, Marine Corps Combat 

Development, Quantico, 2005–2006

• Commanding General, I Marine Expeditionary 

Force; Commander, U.S. Marine Forces Central 

Command, 2006–2007

• Commander, U.S. Joint Forces Command; 

NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander 

Transformation, 2007–2010

• Commander, U.S. Central Command, 2010–2013

• Davies Family Distinguished Visiting Fellow, 

Hoover Institution, 2016–2017
28 Secretaries of Defense Secretaries of Defense 29

Secretaries of Defense Demographics

Number of Confirmed Secretaries since the post 

was created in 1947: 26

Donald H. Rumsfeld became the first individual to 

hold the position twice

Average age of the Secretary when entering office: 

57 years old

Youngest Secretary of Defense: Donald Rumsfeld: 

43 years old when sworn in on 20 November 1975

Oldest Secretary of Defense: Leon Panetta:

73 years old when sworn in on 1 July 2011

Average tenure for 25 Secretaries of Defense who 

completed their terms in office: 

1,009 days or 33 months or 2.8 years

Four longest tenured Secretaries:

Robert S. McNamara, 2,596 days

Caspar W. Weinberger, 2,498 days

Donald H. Rumsfeld (2001–2006), 2,159 days

Charles E. Wilson, 1,715 days

Military Service: 18 of 26 

secretaries served in the

Armed Forces

History of the 

Positional Colors for the 

Office of 

the Secretary of Defense

Section 202(c) of the 1947 National Security Act directed the 

Secretary of Defense to “cause a seal of office to be made for the 

National Military Establishment, of such design as the President 

shall approve, and judicial notice shall be taken thereof.”

In October 1947, President Harry S. Truman approved the 

design for the seal for the National Military Establishment and 

the flag for the Office of the Secretary of Defense. The emblem 

of the American eagle facing to its right with horizontal wings, 

clutching three crossed arrows and bearing a red, white and 

blue shield, was part of the design for the seal for the National 

Military Establishment and the re-designated Department of 

Defense in 1949.

The Secretary of Defense’s flag is medium blue with the 

embroidered eagle in its center and with a white, five-pointed 

star, with one point upward in each of the four corners. The flag 

is trimmed on three edges with a knotted fringe of white silk. 

Cord and tassel are of blue and white strands.

According to the 1947 press release from the Office of the 

Secretary of Defense, the eagle facing to its right indicates honor. 

“The eagle is defending the United States, represented by the 

shield of thirteen pieces. The thirteen pieces are joined together 

by the blue chief, representing the Congress. The three arrows 

are collectively symbolic of the three component parts of the 

National Military Establishment.”

The Heraldic Section of the Office of the Quartermaster General 

of the Army, under the supervision of Arthur E. DuBois, Mrs. 

James Forrestal, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Air John 

Nicholas Brown, Miss Elizabeth Will of the Heraldic Section, 

and personnel in the Office of the Secretary of Defense 

contributed to the development of the basic theme, color 

scheme, and preparation of the final designs for the seal and the 

Secretary’s flag.
30 Secretaries of Defense Secretaries of Defense 31

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta pauses during his testimony to the House 

Armed Services Committee, October 2011. (DoD)

Secretary of Defense James Mattis hosts a press conference at the NATO 

Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, February 16, 2017. (DoD)

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld outside of his Pentagon office, 

January 1977. (DoD)

Secretary of Defense Ash Carter looks at Hawaiian scenery during a visit to 

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, September 30, 2016. (DoD)

Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara briefs the press, June 1965. (DoD) Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has lunch with chief petty officers on the 

USS Tennessee at Naval Base Kings Bay, GA, July 9, 2014. (DoD)
Secretaries of Defense 33

Historical Office

Office of the Secretary of Defense