Robert M. Gates
22nd United States secretary of defense
Education
- M.A. in history - from Indiana University Bloomington
- PhD in Russian and Soviet history - Georgetown University
Overview
Robert Michael Gates is an American intelligence analyst and university president who served as the 22nd United States secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011. He was appointed by President George W. Bush and was retained by President Barack Obama. Gates began his career serving as an officer in the United States Air Force but was quickly recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Gates served for twenty-six years in the CIA and at the National Security Council, and was director of central intelligence under President George H. W. Bush from 1991 to 1993. After leaving the CIA, Gates became president of Texas A&M University and was a member of several corporate boards. Gates served as a member of the Iraq Study Group, the bipartisan commission co-chaired by James A. Baker III and Lee H. Hamilton that studied the lessons of the Iraq War.
Gates was nominated by Republican president George W. Bush as secretary of defense in 2006, replacing Donald Rumsfeld. He was confirmed with bipartisan support. In a 2007, Time named Gates one of the year's most influential people. In 2008, Gates was named one of America's Best Leaders by U.S. News & World Report. He continued to serve as secretary of defense in President Barack Obama's administration and retired in 2011. "He'll be remembered for making us aware of the danger of over-reliance on military intervention as an instrument of American foreign policy," said former senator David L. Boren. Gates was presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, by President Obama during his retirement ceremony.
Since leaving the Obama administration, Gates was elected president of the Boy Scouts of America, served as Chancellor of the College of William & Mary, and served as a member on several corporate boards. In 2012, Gates was elected as a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.
Early Life
Gates was born September 25, 1943 in Wichita, Kansas, the son of Isabel V. (née Goss) and Melville A. "Mel" Gates. Gates attained the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award and Silver Buffalo Award from the BSA as an adult. He graduated from Wichita High School East in 1961. Gates is also a Vigil Honor member within the Order of the Arrow, BSA's National Honor Society. He was selected as the 2017 BSA National Alumnus of the Year.
Gates then received a scholarship to attend the College of William & Mary, graduating in 1965 with a B.A. in history. At William & Mary, Gates was an active member and president of the Alpha Phi Omega (national service fraternity) chapter and the Young Republicans; he was also the business manager for the William and Mary Review, a literary and art magazine. At his William & Mary graduation ceremony, Gates received the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award naming him the graduate who "has made the greatest contribution to his fellow man".
Gates then received an M.A. in history from Indiana University Bloomington in 1966. He completed his PhD in Russian and Soviet history at Georgetown University in 1974. The title of his Georgetown doctoral dissertation is Soviet Sinology: An Untapped Source for Kremlin Views and Disputes Relating to Contemporary Events in China and is available from University Microfilms International as document number 7421652. He received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from William & Mary (1998), the University of Oklahoma (2011), Georgetown University (2014) and an honorary doctorate award from Kansas State University (2012).
He married Rebecca "Becky" Gates (née Wilkie) on January 7, 1967, and they have two children.
Career
- United States - 22nd secretary of defense
Recognition
Government awards :
Presidential Medal of Freedom
Presidential Citizens Medal
National Security Medal
National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal (2 awards)
Distinguished Intelligence Medal (3 awards)
Other awards :
Liberty Medal (2011)
Eagle Scout
Distinguished Eagle Scout Award
Silver Buffalo Award
Vigil Honor, Order of the Arrow
Distinguished Service Award (DSA), Order of the Arrow, August 4, 2015
Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy from Kansas State University
Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from College of William and Mary
Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Georgetown University
Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Indiana University
Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from The University of Oklahoma
Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Yale University
Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Notre Dame
Honorary Doctorate of Public Administration from The University of South Carolina
College of William and Mary – Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award
College of William and Mary Alumni Association – Alumni Medallion
Corps of Cadets Hall of Honor (First and only Non-Corps Honoree) – Texas A&M University
Arthur S. Flemming Award of 1978
Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement (1992)
George Bush Award (2007) – George Bush Presidential Library Foundation
Aviation Week & Space Technology Magazine: Person of the Year 2008
MTV University Man of the Year 2010
Foreign Policy's list of top global thinkers for "being America's last bipartisan figure"
Sylvanus Thayer Award (United States Military Academy)
Robert C. Vance Distinguished Lecturer, Central Connecticut State University, 2011
Order of Bahrain, 1st Degree
ribbon bar Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun, 2017