John Lehman John F . Lehman , Jr . ( born September 14 , 1942 ) is an American investment banker and writer who served as Secretary of the Navy in the Reagan administration where he promoted the creation of a 600 ship Navy . In 2003 – 04 he was a member of the 9 / 11 Commission . Lehman currently serves on the National Security Advisory Council for the Center for Security Policy ( CSP ) , and on the board of trustees for the think tank Foreign Policy Research Institute ( FPRI ) . Lehman is also a member of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States and has signed some policy letters produced by the Project for the New American Century . He also served as an advisor to Sen . John McCain for the 2008 presidential race , and for Mitt Romney in his 2012 bid . Education and family . Born in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , he graduated from La Salle College High School and received a B . S . in international relations from St . Joseph ' s University in 1964 , gained a B . A . and M . A . from Gonville & Caius College , Cambridge and went on to earn a Ph . D . from the University of Pennsylvania . He is a first cousin , once removed , of the late Grace Kelly ( Princess Grace of Monaco ) , and is Chairman of the Princess Grace Foundation - USA , a public charity established after Princess Grace ' s death to support emerging artists in film , dance , and theater . He led the American delegation to the funeral of Prince Rainier . He and his family live in Bucks County , Pennsylvania , and Manhattan . He is a long time Republican . his most famous quote is , " Power corrupts . Absolute power is kind of neat . " Military career . Lehman served in the Air Force Reserve for three years while at Cambridge , then in 1968 left the Air Force Reserve and joined the United States Navy Reserve ( then known as the U . S . Naval Reserve ) as an ensign , later rising to the rank of commander . Lehman worked for UBS AG , then later was president of Abington Corporation , from 1977 to 1981 , when he was appointed by Ronald Reagan to be Secretary of the Navy . As the 65th Secretary , Lehman launched the idea of building a " 600 - ship Navy " . He became Secretary of the Navy at 38 , a young age that he was conscious of in his dealing with Admirals . He was unique in still serving as a commander in the Naval Reserve while being Secretary of the Navy . He developed a strategic concept to counter the threat of Soviet incursion into Western Europe known as the " Lehman Doctrine . " The plan called for a military response to any Russian invasion in Europe by attacking and invading the Soviet Far East along the Pacific , a much less defended front . Forces would sever the trans Siberian railroad and fight westward toward Moscow . According to Hedrick Smith , in his book " The Power Game " , Lehman , lost a fight at the Pentagon with Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Thayer over lowering the number of future aircraft carriers planned . He immediately went to the White House where they were unaware of Thayer ' s decision , and obtained a press release declaring President Reagan had named two of the ships and , thereby implying that Reagan had endorsed the " 600 ship fleet . " Lehman was important in the forced retirement of Admiral Hyman G . Rickover . Lehman resigned in 1987 . He was subsequently promoted to the rank of captain in the U . S . Naval Reserve in 1989 , later retiring from the U . S . Navy as a reserve officer in that rank after 30 years of service . Later career . , Lehman is chairman of the private equity investment firm J . F . Lehman and Company , as well as chairman of the Hawaii Superferry . Lehman is chairman of the board of OAO Technology Solutions Inc . He is also an honorary member of the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry . , he is a member of a number of influential conservative American thinktank s , including the Project for the New American Century , the Heritage Foundation , the Foreign Policy Research Institute , the Center for Security Policy , and the Committee on the Present Danger . After his work in the 9 / 11 Commission in 2002 , there was increased speculation that Lehman might be named to a chief security post within the Bush Administration . Positions suggested included Director of Central Intelligence , Director of National Intelligence and Secretary of Defense ( when Donald Rumsfeld stepped down ) . None of this speculation has proved accurate . He currently serves as Chairman of the Princess Grace Foundation - USA and as a director of the OpSail Foundation . He is also a member of the board of overseers of the School of Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania , and is a trustee of La Salle College High School . He has served on the board of directors of the Ball Corporation since 1987 . Lehman is also an advisory board member for the Partnership for a Secure America , a not - for - profit organization dedicated to recreating the bipartisan center in American national security and foreign policy . On June 26 , 2012 , Lehman revealed to the staff of the United States Naval Institute and in a speech given in Portsmouth , UK , the Reagan Administration secretly offered the use of the amphibious assault helicopter carrier as a replacement in case either of the two British carriers , the and the , had been damaged or destroyed during the 1982 Falklands War . This revelation made headlines in the United Kingdom , but except for the U . S . Naval Institute , not in the United States .