Latest News By Industry
Leon E. Panetta
Also Known As Leon Panetta, Leon Edward Panetta, Panetta
Former United States Secretary of Defense
Leon Edward Panetta is an American politician and Democrat who served as government official under several Democratic administrations Secretary of Defense (2011-13), director of the CIA (2009-11), White House Chief of Staff (1994-97), director of the Office of Management and Budget (1993-94), and as a U.S. Representative from California (1977-93).
Panetta was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1993. He served under President Bill Clinton as Director of the Office of Management and Budget from 1993 to 1994 and as White House Chief of Staff from 1994 to 1997. He cofounded the Panetta Institute for Public Policy in 1997 and served as a Distinguished Scholar to Chancellor Charles B. Reed of the California State University System and as a professor of public policy at Santa Clara University.
In January 2009, newly elected president Barack Obama nominated Panetta for the post of Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Panetta was confirmed by the Senate in February 2009. As director of the CIA, Panetta oversaw the operation that captured and killed Osama bin Laden. On April 28, 2011, Obama announced the nomination of Panetta as defense secretary to replace the retiring Robert Gates. In June, the Senate confirmed Panetta unanimously and he assumed the office on July 1, 2011. David Petraeus became CIA director on September 6, 2011.
Since retiring as Secretary of Defense in 2013, Panetta has served as chairman of the Panetta Institute for Public Policy, located at California State University, Monterey Bay, a campus of the California State University that he helped establish during his tenure as congressman. The institute is dedicated to motivating and preparing people for lives of public service and helping them to become more knowledgeably engaged in the democratic process. He also serves on a number of boards and commissions and frequently writes and lectures on public-policy issues.
Early Life
Panetta was born June 28, 1938 in Monterey, California, the son of Carmelina Maria (Prochilo) and Carmelo Frank Panetta, Italian immigrants from Siderno in Calabria, Italy. In the 1940s, the Panetta family owned a restaurant in Monterey.
He was raised in the Monterey area and attended two Catholic grammar schools: San Carlos School (Monterey) and Junípero Serra School (Carmel). He attended Monterey High School, where he became involved in student politics, and was a member of the Junior Statesmen of America. As a junior, he was the vice president of the student body, and as a senior, he became its president. In 1956, he entered Santa Clara University and graduated magna cum laude in 1960 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science. In 1963, he received a Juris Doctor from the Santa Clara University School of Law.
In 1964, he joined the United States Army as a second lieutenant, served as an officer in the Army Military Intelligence Corps, and received the Army Commendation Medal. In 1966, he was discharged as a first lieutenant.
Education
- - Santa Clara University
- Bachelor of Arts in political science -
- Juris Doctor - Santa Clara University School of Law
Career
- United States - Former Secretary of Defense
Recognition
1966: Army Commendation Medal
1969: Abraham Lincoln Award, National Education Association
1983: Foreign Language Advocate Award, Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.
1983: Ralph B. Atkinson Award for Civil Liberties, Monterey County Chapter of the ACLU
1984: A. Philip Randolph Award
1988: Golden Plow Award, American Farm Bureau Federation
1991: President's Award, American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages
1991: Coastal and Ocean Management Award, Coastal Zone Foundation
1993: Peter Burnett Award for Distinguished Public Service
1995: Distinguished Public Service Medal, Center for the Study of the Presidency
1997: Special Achievement Award for Public Service, National Italian American Foundation
2001: John H. Chafee Coastal Stewardship Award, Coastal America
2002: Law Alumni Special Achievement Award, Santa Clara University School of Law Alumni Association
2003: Julius A. Stratton "Champion of the Coast" Award for Coastal Leadership
2005: Received an honorary Doctorate from University of Wisconsin–Parkside
2005: Received an honorary Doctorate of Public Service from Northeastern University
2006: Paul Peck Award
2012: Intrepid Freedom Award, Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
2012: Golden Plate Award, American Academy of Achievement
2014: Excellence in Policy, Peter Benchley Ocean Awards
2015: Dwight D. Eisenhower Award, National Defense Industrial Association
2018: Sylvanus Thayer Award from the United States Military Academy
2019: ribbon bar Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun