Robert Gates

U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was born on September 25, 1943, in Wichita, Kansas. After graduating from Wichita East High School in 1961, Gates attended the College of William and Mary on a scholarship, earning a BA in European history. In college, Gates was a member of the Young Republicans, and also managed the school’s literary and art magazine. Gates then went on to earn his master's degree in history from Indiana University in 1966, as well as a Ph.D. in Russian and Soviet history from Georgetown University in 1974.

While Gates was a student at Indiana University, he was recruited to work for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). After serving in the Vietnam War as an officer in the Strategic Air Command, Gates joined the CIA as an intelligence analyst. In 1974, Gates left the CIA to serve on the National Security Council; however, he would return to the CIA in 1979, eventually advancing to Deputy Director of Central Intelligence.

In 1991, Gates received his second nomination for the position of Director of Central Intelligence by President George H W Bush. After being sworn in, Gates became the only officer in the history of the CIA to advance from an entry-level position to a director position.

While holding a senior position with the CIA, Gates was privy to some of the major players and their activities in the Iran-Contra Affair. He was later subjected to an investigation by the Independent Counsel in 1991, which concluded that his Iran-Contra activities and testimony did not warrant prosecution.

Gates retired from the CIA in 1993, and then shifted his focus to academia, lecturing at Harvard, Yale, Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt, Georgetown, Indiana, Louisiana State, Oklahoma, and the College of William and Mary; and becoming president of Texas A&M University.

Gates has served on the boards of various organizations, including Fidelity Investments, NACCO Industries, Inc., Brinker International, Inc., Parker Drilling Company, Science Applications International Corporation, and VoteHere, a technology company which devises software security for elections. He is also active in Boy Scouts of America, and is currently the President of the National Eagle Scout Association.

On November 8, 2006, U.S. President George W Bush nominated Gates for the position of Secretary of Defense, following the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld. During his December 5 confirmation hearing, upon being asked if he thought the U.S. was winning the war in Iraq, Gates replied "No," but went on to express that he felt the U.S. was not losing the war, either.

Gates has served as a member of the Iraq Study Group, and was also the first person chosen to head the Department of Homeland Security upon its inception following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Gates published a book of memoirs in 1996, titled From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insider's Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War.

YUDDY