View source for United States Deputy Secretary of Defense

{{Short description|Second highest-ranking DoD official}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox official post
| post = United States Deputy Secretary
| body = Defense
| flag = Flag of the United States Deputy Secretary of Defense.svg
| flagsize = 130
| flagcaption = Flag of the Deputy Secretary
| insignia = Seal of the United States Department of Defense.svg
| insigniasize = 120
| insigniacaption = Seal of the Department
| image = Kathleen H. Hicks, Deputy Secretary of Defense.jpg
| incumbent = [[Kathleen Hicks]]
| incumbentsince = February 8, 2021
| acting = 
| department = [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]]<br>[[Office of the Secretary of Defense|Office of the Secretary]]
| style = Madam Deputy Secretary (informal)<br>[[The Honourable#United States|The Honorable]] (formal)
| status = [[Chief operating officer]]
| reports_to = [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary]]
| seat = [[The Pentagon]], Arlington County, Virginia
| appointer = The [[President of the United States|President]]
| appointer_qualified = with [[United States Senate|Senate]] [[advice and consent]]
| termlength = No fixed term
| constituting_instrument = {{UnitedStatesCode|10|132}}
| first = [[Stephen Early]]<ref name="DODKO:15"/><br>May 2, 1949
| formation = 1949<ref name="DODKO:15"/>
| succession = [[United States Secretary of Defense#Succession|1st in SecDef succession]]
| salary = [[Executive Schedule|Executive Schedule, level II]]<ref name="UnitedStatesCode|5|5313">{{UnitedStatesCode|5|5313}}.</ref>
| website = {{url|https://www.defense.gov/Leaders/Deputy-Secretary-of-Defense/|www.defense.gov}}
}}

The '''deputy secretary of defense''' ([[acronym]]: '''DepSecDef''') is a statutory office ({{UnitedStatesCode|10|132}}) and the second-highest-ranking official in the [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] of the United States of America.

The deputy secretary is the principal civilian deputy to the [[United States Secretary of Defense|secretary of defense]], and is appointed by the [[President of the United States|president]], with the advice and consent of the [[United States Senate|Senate]]. The deputy secretary, by statute, is designated as the DoD chief management officer and [[Civilian control of the military|must be a civilian]], at least seven years removed from service as a [[commissioned officer]] on active-duty at the date of appointment.<ref name="UnitedStatesCode|10|132">{{UnitedStatesCode|10|132}}.</ref>

The current deputy secretary of defense is [[Kathleen Hicks]], effective February 8, 2021. Hicks is the first woman to serve in this role.

==History==
Public Law 81–36, April 2, 1949, originally established this position as the ''[[Under Secretary of Defense|under secretary of defense]]'', however Public Law 81-2 16, August 10, 1949, a.k.a. the 1949 Amendments to the [[National Security Act of 1947]], changed the title to deputy secretary of defense. Former assistant to President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], [[Stephen Early]], became the first officer holder when he was sworn in on May 2, 1949.<ref name="DODKO:15">[[#DODKO|Department of Defense Key Officials 1947–2015]]: p. 15.</ref>

Public Law 92-596, October 27, 1972, established a second deputy secretary of defense position, with both deputies performing duties as prescribed by the secretary of defense.  The second deputy position was not filled until December 1975. [[Robert Ellsworth]], serving from December 23, 1975, until January 10, 1977, was the only one to ever hold that office. Public Law 95-140, October 21, 1977, established two ''[[Office of the Secretary of Defense|Under Secretaries of Defense]]'' and abolished the second deputy position.<ref name="DODKO:15"/>

==Responsibilities==
By delegation, the deputy secretary of defense has full power and authority to act for the [[United States Secretary of Defense|secretary of defense]] and to exercise the powers of the secretary of defense on any and all matters for which the secretary is authorized to act pursuant to statute or executive order.<ref name="DODKO:15"/> The deputy secretary is first in the line of succession to the secretary of defense.

The typical role of the deputy secretary of defense is to oversee the day-to-day business and lead the internal management processes of the $500-billion-plus Department of Defense budget, that is as its ''[[chief operating officer]]''; while the secretary of defense as the ''[[chief executive officer]]'' focuses on the big issues of the day, ongoing military operations, high-profile congressional hearings, attending meetings of the [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]], and directly advising the president on defense issues.

Prior to February 1, 2018, the deputy secretary of defense also served as the department's chief management officer, to whom the deputy chief management officer reported, but those responsibilities were split into a new [[Chief Management Officer of the Department of Defense|chief management officer of the Department of Defense]] position (disestablished on 1 January 2021).<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.acq.osd.mil/fo/docs/Section-901-FY-2017-NDAA-Report.pdf|title=Report to Congress: Restructuring the Department of Defense Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Organization and Chief Management Officer Organization|date=August 1, 2017|access-date=February 22, 2018}}</ref>

The deputy secretary, among the office's many responsibilities, chairs the ''[[Senior Level Review Group]]'' (SLRG), before 2005 known as ''Defense Resources Board'' (DRB), which provides department-wide budgetary allocation recommendations to the Secretary and the President. Traditionally, the deputy secretary has been the civilian official guiding the process of the ''[[Quadrennial Defense Review]]'' (QDR).

The deputy secretary of defense chairs the ''Special Access Program Oversight Committee'' (SAPOC), which has oversight responsibilities and provides recommendations with respect to changes in status of the Department's [[Special Access Program]]s, for either the deputy secretary defense or the secretary of defense to make.

As [[James Mattis]] was selecting officials as [[Donald Trump]]s first Secretary of Defense, [[Michèle Flournoy]] talked with Trump-affiliated officials about joining as deputy secretary. She did not in the end do so.

== List of deputy secretaries of defense ==
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
!rowspan="2"| No.
!rowspan="2"| Image
!rowspan="2"| Name
!colspan="3"| Term of office
!rowspan="2"| Serving under<br>[[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretaries of Defense]]
!rowspan="2"| Appointed by<br>[[President of the United States|President]]
|-
! Began
! Ended
! Time in office
|-
| 1
| [[File:Portrait of Stephen T. Early.jpg|100px]]
| [[Stephen Early]]
| {{highlight|''May 2, 1949''|#e6e6aa}}<br />August 10, 1949<ref name="DODKO:15" />
| {{highlight|''August 9, 1949''|#e6e6aa}}{{efn|As "Under Secretary of Defense"}}<br />September 30, 1950{{efn|As "Deputy Secretary of Defense"}}<ref name="DODKO:15" />
| {{ayd|1949|5|2|1950|9|30}}
| [[Louis A. Johnson]]<br />[[George C. Marshall]]
|rowspan="3"|Harry S. Truman
|-
| 2
| [[File:Robert Lovett, photo portrait, 1951.jpg|100px]]
| [[Robert A. Lovett]]
| October 4, 1950
| September 16, 1951
| {{ayd|1950|10|4|1951|8|16}}
| [[George C. Marshall]]
|-
| 3
| [[File:WilliamCFoster.jpg|100px]]
| [[William Chapman Foster]]
| September 24, 1951
| January 20, 1953
| {{ayd|1951|9|24|1953|1|20}}
| [[Robert A. Lovett]]
|-
| 4
| [[File:Roger-M-Kyes-DepSecDef.jpg|100px]]
| [[Roger M. Kyes]]
| February 2, 1953
| May 1, 1954
| {{ayd|1953|2|2|1954|5|1}}
|rowspan="3"|[[Charles Erwin Wilson]]
|rowspan="6"|Dwight D. Eisenhower
|-
| 5
| [[File:Robert B Anderson (cropped).jpeg|100px]]
| [[Robert B. Anderson (Texas politician)|Robert B. Anderson]]
| May 3, 1954
| August 4, 1955
| {{ayd|1954|5|3|1955|8|4}}
|-
| 6
| [[File:Reuben-B-Robertson-Jr-DepSecDef.jpg|100px]]
| [[Reuben B. Robertson Jr.]]
| August 5, 1955
| April 25, 1957
| {{ayd|1955|8|5|1957|4|25}}
|-
| 7
| [[File:Donald A. Quarles.jpg|100px]]
| [[Donald A. Quarles]]
| May 1, 1957
| May 8, 1959
| {{ayd|1957|5|1|1959|5|8}}
| [[Charles Erwin Wilson]]<br />[[Neil H. McElroy]]
|-
| 8
| [[File:Thomas Gates official DoD photo.jpg|100px]]
| [[Thomas S. Gates Jr.]]
| June 8, 1959
| December 1, 1959
| {{ayd|1959|6|8|1959|12|1}}
| [[Neil H. McElroy]]
|-
| 9
| [[File:James H. Douglas Jr. (cropped).jpg|100px]]
| [[James H. Douglas Jr.]]
| December 11, 1959
| January 24, 1961
| {{ayd|1959|12|11|1961|1|24}}
| [[Thomas S. Gates Jr.]]<br>[[Robert McNamara]]
|-
| 10
| [[File:Roswell Gilpatric.PNG|100px]]
| [[Roswell Gilpatric]]
| January 24, 1961
| January 20, 1964
| {{ayd|1961|1|24|1964|1|20}}
|rowspan="2"|[[Robert McNamara]]
| [[John F. Kennedy]]
|-
| 11
| [[File:CyrusVanceSoS.jpg|100px]]
| [[Cyrus Vance]]
| January 28, 1964
| June 30, 1967
| {{ayd|1964|1|28|1967|6|30}}
|rowspan="2"|Lyndon B. Johnson
|-
| 12
| [[File:Paul Nitze.jpeg|100px]]
| [[Paul Nitze]]
| July 1, 1967
| January 20, 1969
| {{ayd|1967|7|1|1969|1|20}}
| [[Robert McNamara]]<br>[[Clark Clifford]]
|-
| 13
| [[File:David-Packard-DepSecDef.jpg|100px]]
| [[David Packard]]
| January 24, 1969
| December 13, 1971
| {{ayd|1969|1|24|1971|12|13}}
|rowspan="2"|[[Melvin Laird]]
|rowspan="3"|[[Richard Nixon]]
|-
| 14
| [[File:Kenneth-Rush-1977.jpg|100px]]
| [[Kenneth Rush]]
| February 23, 1972
| January 29, 1973
| {{ayd|1972|2|23|1973|1|29}}
|-
| 15
| [[File:Clements Deputy DoD.jpg|133x133px]]
| [[Bill Clements]]
| January 30, 1973
| January 20, 1977
| {{ayd|1973|1|30|1977|1|20}}
| [[Elliot Richardson]]<br />[[James R. Schlesinger]]<br />Donald Rumsfeld
|-
| 16
| [[File:Robert F. Ellsworth.jpg|100px]]
| [[Robert Ellsworth]]
| December 23, 1975<ref name="DODKO:16">[[#DODKO|Department of Defense Key Officials 1947–2015]]: p. 16.</ref>
| January 10, 1977<ref name="DODKO:16" />
| {{ayd|1975|12|23|1977|1|10}}
| Donald Rumsfeld
| [[Gerald Ford]]
|-
| 17
| [[File:Secretary Duncan (cropped).jpg|100px]]
| [[Charles Duncan Jr.]]
| January 31, 1977
| July 26, 1979
| {{ayd|1977|1|31|1979|7|26}}
|rowspan="2"|[[Harold Brown (Secretary of Defense)|Harold Brown]]
|rowspan="2"|[[Jimmy Carter]]
|-
| 18
| [[File:W. Graham Claytor 1984.jpg|100px]]
| [[W. Graham Claytor Jr.]]
| August 24, 1979
| January 16, 1981
| {{ayd|1979|8|24|1981|1|16}}
|-
| 19
| [[File:Frank Carlucci.jpg|100px]]
| [[Frank Carlucci]]
| February 4, 1981
| December 31, 1982
| {{ayd|1981|2|4|1982|12|31}}
|rowspan="2"|[[Caspar Weinberger]]
|rowspan="3"|[[Ronald Reagan]]
|-
| 20
| [[File:W-Paul-Thayer-portrait.jpg|100px]]
| [[W. Paul Thayer]]
| January 12, 1983
| January 4, 1984
| {{ayd|1983|1|12|1984|1|4}}
|-
| 21
| [[File:William Howard Taft IV, Deptuty Secretary of Defense, official portrait (cropped).jpg|100px]]
| [[William Howard Taft IV]]
| February 3, 1984
| April 22, 1989
| {{ayd|1984|2|3|1989|4|22}}
| [[Caspar Weinberger]]<br>[[Frank Carlucci]]<br>[[Dick Cheney]]
|-
| 22
| [[File:Donald J. Atwood, Jr.jpg|100px]]
| [[Donald J. Atwood Jr.]]
| April 24, 1989
| January 20, 1993
| {{ayd|1989|4|24|1993|1|20}}
| [[Dick Cheney]]
| [[George H. W. Bush]]
|-
| 23
| [[File:William Perry official DoD photo.jpg|100px]]
| [[William J. Perry|William Perry]]
| March 5, 1993
| February 3, 1994
| {{ayd|1993|3|5|1994|2|3}}
| [[Les Aspin]]
|rowspan="5"|[[Bill Clinton]]
|-
| 24
| [[File:John Deutch, Undersecretary of Defense, 1993 official photo (cropped).JPEG|100px]]
| [[John M. Deutch]]
| March 11, 1994
| May 10, 1995
| {{ayd|1994|3|11|1995|5|10}}
| [[William J. Perry|William Perry]]
|-
| 25
| [[File:John P. White, official DoD portrait (cropped).jpg|100px]]
| [[John P. White]]
| June 22, 1995
| July 15, 1997
| {{ayd|1995|6|22|1997|7|15}}
| [[William J. Perry|William Perry]]<br>[[William Cohen]]
|-
| 26
| [[File:Deputy Secretary of Defense John Hamre, official portrait (cropped).jpg|100px]]
| [[John Hamre]]
| July 29, 1997
| March 31, 2000
| {{ayd|1997|7|29|2000|3|31}}
| [[William Cohen]]
|-
| 27
| [[File:Deputy Secretary of Defense Rudy de Leon, official portrait (cropped).jpg|100px]]
| [[Rudy de Leon]]
| March 31, 2000<ref name="DODKO:17">[[#DODKO|Department of Defense Key Officials 1947–2015]]: p. 17.</ref>
| March 1, 2001<ref name="DODKO:17" />
| {{ayd|2000|3|31|2001|3|1}}
| [[William Cohen]]<br />Donald Rumsfeld
|-
| 28
| [[File:Paul Wolfowitz (cropped).jpg|100px]]
| [[Paul Wolfowitz]]
| March 2, 2001<ref name="DODKO:18" />
| May 13, 2005<ref name="DODKO:18" />
| {{ayd|2001|3|2|2005|5|13}}
| Donald Rumsfeld
|rowspan="2"|[[George W. Bush]]
|-
| 29
| [[File:Gordon England portrait (cropped).jpg|100px]]
| [[Gordon R. England]]
| {{highlight|''May 13, 2005''|#e6e6aa}}<br />January 4, 2006<ref name="DODKO:18" />
| {{highlight|''January 3, 2006''|#e6e6aa}}{{efn|Served as Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense}}<br />February 11, 2009<ref name="DODKO:18" />
| ''{{ayd|2005|5|13|2006|1|4}}''<br />{{age in days|2006|1|4|2009|2|11}}
| Donald Rumsfeld<br />[[Robert Gates]]
|-
| 30
| [[File:Deputy Secretary of Defense Lynn (cropped).jpg|100px]]
| [[William J. Lynn III]]
| February 12, 2009<ref name="DODKO:18" />
| October 5, 2011<ref name="DODKO:18" />
| {{ayd|2009|2|12|2011|10|5}}
| [[Robert Gates]]<br />[[Leon Panetta]]
|rowspan="4"|[[Barack Obama]]
|-
| 31
| [[File:Ashton Carter DOD photo (cropped).jpg|100px]]
| [[Ash Carter]]
| October 6, 2011<ref name="DODKO:18" />
| December 4, 2013<ref name="DODKO:18" />
| {{ayd|2011|10|6|2013|12|3}}
| [[Leon Panetta]]<br>[[Chuck Hagel]]
|-
| bgcolor="#e6e6aa" | —
| bgcolor="#e6e6aa" | [[File:Christine Fox (cropped).jpg|100px]]
| bgcolor="#e6e6aa" | [[Christine Fox]]<br>''Acting''
| bgcolor="#e6e6aa" | December 5, 2013<ref name="DODKO:18">[[#DODKO|Department of Defense Key Officials 1947–2015]]: p. 18.</ref>
| bgcolor="#e6e6aa" | May 1, 2014<ref name="DODKO:18" />
| bgcolor="#e6e6aa" | {{age in days|2013|12|3|2014|5|1}}
| [[Chuck Hagel]]
|-
| 32
| [[File:Robert O. Work DoD photo (cropped).jpg|100px]]
| [[Robert O. Work]]
| May 1, 2014
| July 14, 2017
| {{ayd|2014|5|1|2017|7|14}}
| [[Chuck Hagel]]<br >[[Ash Carter]]<br/>[[Jim Mattis]]
|-
| 33
| [[File:Patrick M. Shanahan official portrait (cropped).jpg|100px]]
| [[Patrick M. Shanahan]]
| July 19, 2017
| June 23, 2019<ref name="Shanahan">{{cite web|url=https://dod.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/1880477/acting-secretary-of-defense-will-resign-as-deputy-secretary-of-defense/|title=Acting Secretary of Defense will Resign as Deputy Secretary of Defense|date=June 18, 2019|access-date=June 24, 2019|publisher=United States Department of Defense}}</ref>
| {{ayd|2017|7|19|2019|6|23}}
| [[Jim Mattis]]<br>''Himself'' (acting)
|rowspan="4"| [[Donald Trump]] 
|-
| bgcolor="#e6e6aa" | —
| bgcolor="#e6e6aa" | [[File:David L. Norquist official portrait (cropped).jpg|100px]]
| bgcolor="#e6e6aa" | [[David Norquist]]<br>''Acting''
| bgcolor="#e6e6aa" | January 1, 2019
| bgcolor="#e6e6aa" | July 23, 2019
| bgcolor="#e6e6aa" | {{ayd|2019|1|1|2019|7|23}}
| [[Patrick M. Shanahan]] (acting)<br>[[Mark Esper]] (acting)<br>[[Richard V. Spencer]] (acting)
|-
| bgcolor="#e6e6aa" | —
| bgcolor="#e6e6aa" | [[File:Richard V. Spencer official photo (cropped).jpg|100px]]
| bgcolor="#e6e6aa" | [[Richard V. Spencer]]<br>''Acting''
| bgcolor="#e6e6aa" | July 23, 2019
| bgcolor="#e6e6aa" | July 31, 2019
| bgcolor="#e6e6aa" | {{ayd|2019|7|23|2019|7|31}}
| [[Mark Esper]]
|-
| 34
| [[File:David L. Norquist – Deputy Secretary of Defense (cropped).jpg|100px]]
| [[David Norquist]]
| July 31, 2019
| February 8, 2021
| {{ayd|2019|7|31|2021|2|8}}
|[[Mark Esper]]<br> [[Lloyd Austin]]
|-
| 35
| [[File:Kathleen H. Hicks, Deputy Secretary of Defense (cropped).jpg|100px]]
| [[Kathleen Hicks]]
| February 8, 2021
| ''Incumbent''
| {{ayd|2021|2|8}}
| [[Lloyd Austin]]
| [[Joe Biden]]
|}

== See also ==
* [[Defense Acquisition Board]]
* [[Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee]]
* [[Deputy's Advisory Working Group]], a panel chaired by the deputy secretary of defense
* [[Packard Commission]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist|2}}

=== Sources ===
* {{Cite book
  | title = Department of Defense Directive 5100.1: Functions of the Department of Defense and Its Major Components
  | publisher = [[U.S. Department of Defense]]
  | series = Department of Defense Directive
  | location = Washington, D.C.
  | url = http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/510001p.pdf
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110322204730/http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/510001p.pdf
  | url-status = dead
  | archive-date = March 22, 2011
  | date = December 21, 2010
  | ref = 5100.1 }}
* {{Cite book
  | title = Department of Defense Key Officials 1947–2015
  | publisher = [[Office of the Secretary of Defense]], Historical Office
  | location = [[Washington, D.C.]]
  | url = http://history.defense.gov/Portals/70/Documents/key_officials/KEYOFFICIALSjune22-2015.pdf
  | date = 2015
  | ref = DODKO }}
* deputy secretary of defense position profile at [https://web.archive.org/web/20090427174732/http://www.excellenceintransition.org/prune/prunedetail.cfm?ItemNumber=10552 Prunes Online]

==External links==
* [http://www.defense.gov/ defense.gov]

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[[Category:United States Department of Defense officials| ]]
[[Category:United States deputy secretaries of defense| ]]
[[Category:United States deputy secretaries|Defense]]