Virginia Secretary of Veterans Affairs

The secretary of veterans and defense affairs is a member of the Virginia Governor's Cabinet. It was created by Governor Bob McDonnell in 2010 to succeed the position of Assistant to the Governor for Commonwealth Preparedness.^[1] It was referred to as the "secretary of veterans affairs and homeland security" until 2014, when most homeland security responsibilities were transferred to the secretary of public safety and homeland security. The office was most recently held by Carlos Hopkins, who succeeded retired Admiral John C. Harvey Jr. in 2017.^[2] Craig Crenshaw has been nominated to serve as Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs of Virginia
Incumbent vacant since January 15, 2022 (2022-01-15)
Style	Mr. Secretary
Member of	Virginia Governor's Cabinet
Nominator	The governor
Appointer	The governor with advice and consent from the Senate and House
Term length	4 years
Inaugural holder	Terrie Suit (as Secretary of Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security)
Formation	2010
Website	vada.virginia.gov

List of secretaries

Prior to the establishment of the Secretariat of Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security, there existed an assistant to the governor, which itself emerged from Governor Jim Gilmore's Virginia Preparedness and Security Panel created after the September 11th terrorist attacks.

Veterans affairs and homeland security
No.	Name	Took office	Left office	Governor(s)
1	Terrie Suit	April 6, 2011	September 23, 2013		Bob McDonnell
2	James W. Hopper	September 23, 2013	January 11, 2014
3	John C. Harvey Jr.	January 11, 2014	April 2, 2014		Terry McAuliffe
Veterans and defense affairs
No.	Name	Took office	Left office	Governor(s)
3	John C. Harvey Jr.	April 2, 2014	September 1, 2017		Terry McAuliffe
4	Carlos Hopkins	September 1, 2017	present		Terry McAuliffe Ralph Northam
5	Craig Crenshaw	nominated			Glenn Youngkin