Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
Biography
Confirmed by voice vote in the Senate and sworn in as secretary of defense January 20.
Government policy experience: Secretary of defense, 1975-1977; Ford administration transition chairman, chief of staff and Cabinet member, 1974-1975; U.S. ambassador to NATO, 1973-1974; director of White House Economic Stabilization Program and counselor to the president, 1971-1973; director, White House Office of Economic Opportunity, assistant to the president and Cabinet member, 1969-1971; Republican congressman from Illinois, 1962-1969.
Other work experience: Chairman and chief executive officer, General Instrument Corporation, 1990-1993; chief executive officer, president, and later chairman of G.D. Searle & Co., a worldwide pharmaceutical company, 1977-1985; naval aviator in U.S. Navy, 1954-1957.
Education: B.A. in politics, Princeton University.
President Bush on Rumsfeld: "Don and I have set three clear goals to guide American defense policy. First, we will strengthen the bond of trust between the American people and those who wear our nation's uniform. We'll give them the tools they need and the respect they deserve. Second, we will work to defend our people and our allies against growing threats -- the threats of missiles, information warfare, the threats of biological, chemical and nuclear weapons. We will confront the new threats of a new century. Third, we will begin creating the military of the future -- one that takes full advantage of revolutionary new technologies. We will promote the peace by redefining the way wars will be fought."
President Bush on Rumsfeld: "This is a man who has got great judgment, he has got strong vision, and he's going to be a great secretary of defense -- again."
Background: From 1998 to 1999, Rumsfeld served as chairman of the Commission on the Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States, which evaluated the United States' vulnerability to missile attack.
President Bush indicated that his selection was due in part to Rumsfeld's work as chairman of the commission. "I felt that he did an extraordinary job with a delicate assignment," Bush said. "He brought people together who understand the realities of the modern world. In picking Don Rumsfeld, we'll have a person who is thoughtful and considerate and wise on the subject of missile defense."
Most recently, from 1999 to 2000, Rumsfeld was a member of the U.S. Trade Deficit Review Commission. During the Reagan Administration, he served as an adviser to the U.S. Departments of State and Defense and as a member of the President's General Advisory Committee on Arms Control. During the Clinton Administration, he chaired the U.S. Commission to Assess National Security Space Management and Organization.