Robert Gates

Robert Michael Gates (born September 25, 1943) is an American intelligence analyst and university president who served as the 22nd <a href="/facts/United_States_secretary_of_defense/K3ygWDbv">United States secretary of defense</a> from 2006 to 2011. He was appointed by President <a href="/facts/George_W._Bush/mYSgM515">George W. Bush</a> and retained by President <a href="/facts/Barack_Obama/76wUMgL1">Barack Obama</a>. Gates began his career serving as an officer in the <a href="/facts/United_States_Air_Force/7MxWBYlc">United States Air Force</a> but was quickly recruited by the <a href="/facts/Central_Intelligence_Agency/U7urmQYL">Central Intelligence Agency</a> (CIA). Gates served for twenty-six years in the CIA and at the <a href="/facts/United_States_National_Security_Council/HYwSNFA6">National Security Council</a>, and was <a href="/facts/Director_of_Central_Intelligence/bWgpp3zY">director of central intelligence</a> under President <a href="/facts/George_H._W._Bush/Xk5UxRqp">George H. W. Bush</a> from 1991 to 1993. After leaving the CIA, Gates became president of <a href="/facts/Texas_A%2526M_University/s1zDpnxa">Texas A&M University</a> and was a member of several corporate boards. Gates served as a member of the <a href="/facts/Iraq_Study_Group/Pun0J2zJ">Iraq Study Group</a>, the bipartisan commission co-chaired by <a href="/facts/James_A._Baker_III/4wQQGgP0">James A. Baker III</a> and <a href="/facts/Lee_H._Hamilton/PEVLRBoh">Lee H. Hamilton</a> that studied the lessons of the <a href="/facts/Iraq_War/dlAgf8at">Iraq War</a>.
Gates was nominated by Republican president <a href="/facts/George_W._Bush/mYSgM515">George W. Bush</a> as secretary of defense in 2006, replacing <a href="/facts/Donald_Rumsfeld/nTbFApTY">Donald Rumsfeld</a>. He was confirmed with bipartisan support. In 2007, <a href="/facts/Time_(magazine)/N4FXc99l">Time</a> named Gates one of the <a href="/facts/Time_100/12J5tflY">year's most influential people</a>. In 2008, Gates was named one of America's Best Leaders by <a href="/facts/U.S._News_%2526_World_Report/5dUQWa8D">U.S. News & World Report</a>. He continued to serve as secretary of defense in President <a href="/facts/Barack_Obama/76wUMgL1">Barack Obama</a>'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 <a href="/facts/David_L._Boren/2aAKSzJ0">David L. Boren</a>. Gates was presented the <a href="/facts/Presidential_Medal_of_Freedom/wNtowHA6">Presidential Medal of Freedom</a>, the nation's highest civilian award, by President Obama during his retirement ceremony.
Since leaving the Obama administration, Gates was elected president of the <a href="/facts/Boy_Scouts_of_America/xGoQDGpQ">Boy Scouts of America</a>, served as <a href="/facts/Chancellor_of_the_College_of_William_%2526_Mary/x7vGhs8d">Chancellor of the College of William & Mary</a>, and served as a member on several corporate boards. In 2012, Gates was elected as a fellow of the <a href="/facts/National_Academy_of_Public_Administration_(United_States)/KfCQNFFP">National Academy of Public Administration.</a>

Robert Gates open-in-new

Robert Gates