United States Secretary of Defense

The United States secretary of Defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense (DoD), the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces.^[5][6][7]

United States Secretary of Defense
Seal of the department[1]
Flag of the secretary[2]
Incumbent Pete Hegseth since January 25, 2025
United States Department of Defense Office of the Secretary of Defense
Style	Mr. Secretary (informal) The Honorable (formal)
Abbreviation	SecDef
Member of	Cabinet National Security Council
Reports to	President of the United States
Seat	The Pentagon, Arlington County, Virginia
Appointer	The President with Senate advice and consent
Term length	No fixed term
Constituting instrument	10 U.S.C. § 113
Precursor	Secretary of War Secretary of the Navy
Formation	September 17, 1947 (1947-09-17)
First holder	James Forrestal
Succession	Sixth[3]
Deputy	Deputy Secretary of Defense
Salary	Executive Schedule, level I[4]
Website	defense.gov

The position was established in 1947 with the National Security Act, which aimed to unify and coordinate the various branches of the military under a single executive authority. The defense secretary serves as the principal defense policy advisor to the president and is responsible for overseeing the Department of Defense,^[8] making decisions on military strategy, personnel, and budgetary issues. The first person to hold this title was James Forrestal.

Subject only to the orders of the president, the secretary of defense is in the chain of command and exercises command and control over all DoD-controlled service branches  – the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Space Force – as well as the Coast Guard when its command and control is transferred to the Department of Defense.^{[9][10][11][12][13]} The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the principal military adviser to the secretary of defense and the president.^[14]

Over the decades, the role has changed significantly, especially during major conflicts such as the Korean War,^[15] the Vietnam War, ^[16]and the wars in Iraq^[17] and Afghanistan.^[18] This role has increasingly emphasized not only military preparedness and operations but also the integration of defense with international relations and national security priorities.

Pete Hegseth is the current secretary of defense. He was nominated by President Donald Trump on and confirmed by the Senate on January 25, 2025.

In 2025, President Donald Trump authorized "secretary of war" as a secondary title for use by the secretary; only an act of Congress can legally change the name of the position.^[19][20]

List of secretaries of defense

Parties

  Democratic   Republican   Independent / Unknown

Status

  Denotes an Acting Secretary of Defense

No.	Portrait	Secretary of Defense	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Party	State of residence	President serving under	Ref.
1		Forrestal, JamesJames Forrestal (1892–1949)	September 17, 1947	March 28, 1949	1 year, 192 days	Democratic	New York	Truman, HarryHarry S. Truman (Democratic)	[21]
2		Johnson, LouisLouis A. Johnson (1891–1966)	March 28, 1949	September 19, 1950	1 year, 175 days	Democratic	West Virginia	Truman, HarryHarry S. Truman (Democratic)	[22]
3		Marshall, GeorgeGeorge C. Marshall (1880–1959)	September 21, 1950	September 12, 1951	356 days	Independent	Pennsylvania	Truman, HarryHarry S. Truman (Democratic)	[23]
4		Lovett, RobertRobert A. Lovett (1895–1986)	September 17, 1951	January 20, 1953	1 year, 125 days	Republican	New York	Truman, HarryHarry S. Truman (Democratic)	[24]
5		Wilson, CharlesCharles Erwin Wilson (1890–1961)	January 28, 1953	October 8, 1957	4 years, 253 days	Republican	Michigan	Eisenhower, DwightDwight D. Eisenhower (Republican)	[25]
6		McElroy, NeilNeil H. McElroy (1904–1972)	October 9, 1957	December 1, 1959	2 years, 53 days	Republican	Ohio	Eisenhower, DwightDwight D. Eisenhower (Republican)	[26]
7		Gates, ThomasThomas S. Gates Jr. (1906–1983)	December 2, 1959	January 20, 1961	1 year, 49 days	Republican	Pennsylvania	Eisenhower, DwightDwight D. Eisenhower (Republican)	[27]
8		McNamara, RobertRobert McNamara (1916–2009)	January 21, 1961	February 29, 1968	7 years, 39 days	Republican	Michigan	Kennedy, JohnJohn F. Kennedy (Democratic) Lyndon B. Johnson (Democratic)	[28]
9		Clifford, ClarkClark Clifford (1906–1998)	March 1, 1968	January 20, 1969	325 days	Democratic	Maryland	Johnson, LyndonLyndon B. Johnson (Democratic)	[29]
10		Laird, MelvinMelvin R. Laird (1922–2016)	January 22, 1969	January 29, 1973	4 years, 7 days	Republican	Wisconsin	Nixon, RichardRichard Nixon (Republican)	[30]
11		Richardson, ElliotElliot Richardson (1920–1999)	January 30, 1973	May 24, 1973	114 days	Republican	Massachusetts	Nixon, RichardRichard Nixon (Republican)	[31]
–		Clements, BillBill Clements (1917–2011) Acting	May 24, 1973	July 2, 1973	39 days	Republican	Texas	Nixon, RichardRichard Nixon (Republican)	[32]
12		Schlesinger, JamesJames R. Schlesinger (1929–2014)	July 2, 1973	November 19, 1975	2 years, 140 days	Republican	Virginia	Nixon, RichardRichard Nixon (Republican) Gerald Ford (Republican)	[33]
13		Rumsfeld, DonaldDonald Rumsfeld (1932–2021)	November 20, 1975	January 20, 1977	1 year, 61 days	Republican	Illinois	Ford, GeraldGerald Ford (Republican)	[34]
14		Brown, HaroldHarold Brown (1927–2019)	January 20, 1977	January 20, 1981	4 years, 0 days	Democratic	California	Carter, JimmyJimmy Carter (Democratic)	[35]
15		Weinberger, CasparCaspar Weinberger (1917–2006)	January 21, 1981	November 23, 1987	6 years, 306 days	Republican	California	Reagan, RonaldRonald Reagan (Republican)	[36]
16		Carlucci, FrankFrank Carlucci (1930–2018)	November 23, 1987	January 20, 1989	1 year, 58 days	Republican	Virginia	Reagan, RonaldRonald Reagan (Republican)	[37]
–		Taft, WilliamWilliam Howard Taft IV (born 1945) Acting	January 20, 1989	March 21, 1989	60 days	Republican	Ohio	Bush, GeorgeGeorge H. W. Bush (Republican)	[38]
17		Cheney, DickDick Cheney (1941–2025)	March 21, 1989	January 20, 1993	3 years, 305 days	Republican	Wyoming	Bush, GeorgeGeorge H. W. Bush (Republican)	[39]
18		Aspin, LesLeslie Aspin (1938–1995)	January 20, 1993[40][41]	February 3, 1994	1 year, 14 days	Democratic	Wisconsin	Clinton, BillBill Clinton (Democratic)	[42]
19		Perry, WilliamWilliam Perry (born 1927)	February 3, 1994	January 23, 1997[43] / January 24, 1997[40][44]	2 years, 356 days	Democratic	Pennsylvania	Clinton, BillBill Clinton (Democratic)	.
20		Cohen, WilliamWilliam Cohen (born 1940)	January 24, 1997	January 20, 2001	3 years, 362 days	Republican	Maine	Clinton, BillBill Clinton (Democratic)	[45]
21		Rumsfeld, DonaldDonald Rumsfeld (1932–2021)	January 20, 2001	December 18, 2006	5 years, 332 days (7 years, 29 days total)	Republican	Illinois	Bush, George W.George W. Bush (Republican)	[46]
22		Gates, RobertRobert Gates (born 1943)	December 18, 2006	June 30, 2011[47] / July 1, 2011[40]	4 years, 194 days	Republican	Texas	Bush, George W.George W. Bush (Republican) Barack Obama (Democratic)	.
23		Panetta, LeonLeon Panetta (born 1938)	July 1, 2011	February 26, 2013	1 year, 240 days	Democratic	California	Obama, BarackBarack Obama (Democratic)	[48]
24		Hagel, ChuckChuck Hagel (born 1946)	February 27, 2013	February 17, 2015	1 year, 355 days	Republican	Nebraska	Obama, BarackBarack Obama (Democratic)	[49]
25		Carter, AshAsh Carter (1954–2022)	February 17, 2015	January 20, 2017	1 year, 338 days	Democratic	Massachusetts	Obama, BarackBarack Obama (Democratic)	[50][40]
26		Mattis, JimJim Mattis (born 1950)	January 20, 2017	January 1, 2019	1 year, 345 days	Independent	Washington	Trump, DonaldDonald Trump (Republican)	[51]
–		Shanahan, PatrickPatrick M. Shanahan (born 1962) Acting	January 1, 2019	June 23, 2019	173 days	Independent	Washington	Trump, DonaldDonald Trump (Republican)	[52]
–		Esper, MarkMark Esper (born 1964) Acting	June 24, 2019	July 15, 2019	21 days	Republican	Virginia	Trump, DonaldDonald Trump (Republican)	[53]
–		Esper, MarkRichard V. Spencer (born 1954) Acting	July 15, 2019	July 23, 2019	8 days	Republican	Wyoming	Trump, DonaldDonald Trump (Republican)	[54]
27		Esper, MarkMark Esper (born 1964)	July 23, 2019	November 9, 2020	1 year, 109 days	Republican	Virginia	Trump, DonaldDonald Trump (Republican)	[53]
–		Miller, Christopher C.Christopher C. Miller (born 1965) Acting	November 9, 2020	January 20, 2021	72 days	Republican	Iowa	Trump, DonaldDonald Trump (Republican)	[53]
–		Norquist, David L.David Norquist (born 1966) Acting	January 20, 2021	January 22, 2021	2 days	Republican	Massachusetts	Biden, JoeJoe Biden (Democratic)	[55]
28		Austin, LloydLloyd Austin (born 1953)	January 22, 2021	January 20, 2025	3 years, 364 days	Independent	Georgia	Biden, JoeJoe Biden (Democratic)	[56]
–		Salesses, Robert G.Robert G. Salesses Acting	January 20, 2025	January 25, 2025	6 days	Republican	—	Trump, DonaldDonald Trump (Republican)	[53]
29		Hegseth, PetePete Hegseth (born 1980)	January 25, 2025	Incumbent	338 days	Republican	Tennessee	Trump, DonaldDonald Trump (Republican)	[57]

Living former secretaries of defense

As of November 2025, there are eight living former secretaries of defense, the oldest being William J. Perry (served 1994-1997). The most recent death of a former secretary of state was that of Dick Cheney (served 1989-1993) on November 3, 2025.^[a]

• 
  William J. Perry
  (1994-1997)
  Born (1927-10-11)October 11, 1927
  (age 98 years, 79 days)
• 
  William Cohen
  (1997-2001)
  Born (1940-08-28)August 28, 1940
  (age 85 years, 123 days)
• 
  Robert Gates
  (2006-2011)
  Born (1943-09-25)September 25, 1943
  (age 82 years, 95 days)
• 
  Leon Panetta
  (2011-2013)
  Born (1938-06-28)June 28, 1938
  (age 87 years, 184 days)
• 
  Chuck Hagel
  (2013-2015)
  Born (1946-10-04)October 4, 1946
  (age 79 years, 86 days)
• 
  Jim Mattis
  (2017-2019)
  Born (1950-11-08)November 8, 1950
  (age 75 years, 51 days)
• 
  Mark Esper
  (2019-2021)
  Born (1964-04-26)April 26, 1964
  (age 61 years, 247 days)
• 
  Lloyd Austin
  (2021-2025)
  Born (1953-08-08)August 8, 1953
  (age 72 years, 143 days)