Robert Gates

Robert Michael Gates (born September 25 1943) is an American former intelligence analyst who served as the United States Secretary of Defense from 2006 to 2011. Prior to that he headed the Central Intelligence Agency and held senior positions in national security, including a long tenure on the National Security Council. After leaving government service he became chancellor of the College of William & Mary and has been active in civic organizations such as the Boy Scouts of America.

Early life and career

Gates was born in Wichita, Kansas, to Isabel V. (née Goss) and Melville A. “Mel” Gates. Growing up he earned the rank of Eagle Scout, a distinction that would later earn him both the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award and the Silver Buffalo Award from the Boy Scouts of America for his adult contributions to the organization. In 1961 he graduated from Wichita High School East.

He entered the College of William & Mary on a scholarship, earning a Bachelor of Arts in history in 1965. While there he served as president of the Alpha Phi Omega chapter and was active in the Young Republicans; he also managed the literary and art magazine *William and Mary Review*. At his graduation ceremony he received the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award for outstanding service to fellow students.

Gates continued his graduate studies at Indiana University Bloomington, where he earned a Master of Arts in the history of Eastern Europe and the South Slavs in 1966. He then pursued doctoral work at Georgetown University, completing a Ph.D. in Russian and Soviet history in 1974 under Joseph Schiebel. His dissertation, titled *Soviet Sinology: An Untapped Source for Kremlin Views and Disputes Relating to Contemporary Events in China*, is available through University Microfilms International.

On January 7 1967 he married Rebecca “Becky” Wilkie; the couple has two children.

While still a graduate student at Indiana, Gates was recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and joined the agency in 1966. On January 4 1967 he received a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force after completing Officer Training School under CIA sponsorship. From 1967 to 1969 he served as an intelligence officer with the Strategic Air Command, including a year at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri where he delivered intelligence briefings to intercontinental ballistic missile crews. After fulfilling his military obligation, Gates rejoined the CIA as an analyst and continued to work on his doctoral thesis while serving professionally.

In 1974 he left the CIA to serve on the staff of the National Security Council. He returned to the CIA in late 1979, briefly heading the Strategic Evaluation Center within the Office of Strategic Research. In 1981 he was named Director of the DCI/DDCI Executive Staff; the following year he became deputy director for intelligence, and from April 18 1986 to March 20 1989 he served as deputy director of central intelligence.

Under President George H. W. Bush, Gates held several senior roles in the executive branch. From March until August 1989 he was Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs; thereafter, from August 1989 until November 1991, he served as Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Adviser under Brent Scowcroft.

Gates first sought the position of Director of Central Intelligence in early 1987 but withdrew his name when it became clear that the Senate would reject the nomination due to controversy surrounding his role in the Iran‑Contra affair. He was nominated again on May 14 1991, confirmed by the Senate on November 5, and sworn into office on November 6.

Cabinet tenure

President George W. Bush nominated Gates as Secretary of Defense in 2006 to replace Donald Rumsfeld. His confirmation received bipartisan support from the Senate. Gates continued to serve in that capacity under President Barack Obama until his retirement in 2011. During his tenure he was a member of the Iraq Study Group, a bipartisan commission co‑chaired by James A. Baker III and Lee H. Hamilton that examined lessons from the Iraq War.

Gates’s service earned him national recognition: Time magazine named him one of the most influential people in 2007, and U.S. News & World Report listed him among America’s best leaders in 2008. At his retirement ceremony, President Obama presented Gates with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award.

Legacy

After concluding his government career, Gates continued to contribute to public life and academia. He became president of Texas A&M University, a position that followed his departure from the CIA, and he served on several corporate boards. In 2012 he was elected chancellor of the College of William & Mary, returning to the institution where he earned his undergraduate degree. That same year he was named a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.

Gates also maintained active involvement with civic organizations. He was elected president of the Boy Scouts of America, and throughout his adult life he received both the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award and the Silver Buffalo Award for his service to the