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General Counsel of the Department of Defense

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The general counsel of the Department of Defense is the chief legal officer of the Department of Defense (DoD), advising both the Secretary and Deputy Secretary on all legal matters and services, and providing legal advice to Office of the Secretary of Defense organizations and, as appropriate, other DOD components.

The general counsel develops the department's Legislative Program and coordinates DoD positions on legislation and Executive Orders; coordinates the appeals process for denied FOIA requests; oversees the performance and standards of DoD attorneys; establishes policy on general legal issues and determines the DoD position on specific legal problems; maintains repository for all international agreements coordinated, negotiated, or concluded by DoD personnel; and is "dual-hatted" as director of the Defense Legal Services Agency.

This position was established by Reorganization Plan No. 6 of 1953 and by Defense Directive 5145.1, signed 24 August 1953. The position derived its responsibilities from one of the original three Special Assistants to the Secretary (established in 1947) and the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Legal and Legislative Affairs) (established in 1949).[1]

Office holders

General Counsels of the Department of Defense[1]
Image Name Tenure SecDef(s) served under President(s) served under
File:Streuve Hensel (Assistant Secretary of the Navy).jpg H. Struve Hensel August 17, 1953 – March 4, 1954 Charles Erwin Wilson Dwight Eisenhower
File:Wilber Marion Brucker (cropped).jpg Wilber M. Brucker April 23, 1954 – July 20, 1955
File:Blank.svg Mansfield D. Sprague October 6, 1955 – February 27, 1957
File:Blank.svg Robert Dechert February 28, 1957 – July 15, 1959 Charles Erwin Wilson
Neil H. McElroy
File:Blank.svg J. Vincent Burke Jr. September 14, 1959 – January 20, 1961 Neil H. McElroy
Thomas S. Gates
File:CyrusVanceSoS.jpg Cyrus Vance January 29, 1961 – June 30, 1962 Robert S. McNamara John F. Kennedy
File:John T. McNaughton (cropped).jpg John McNaughton July 5, 1962 – June 25, 1964 John F. Kennedy
Lyndon B. Johnson
File:Blank.svg Leonard Niederlehner (Acting) July 1, 1964 – September 19, 1966 Lyndon B. Johnson
File:Paul Warnke 1983 (cropped).jpg Paul Warnke October 3, 1966 – July 31, 1967
File:Blank.svg Leonard Niederlehner (Acting) August 1, 1967 – August 20, 1970 Robert S. McNamara
Clark Clifford
Melvin Laird		 Lyndon B. Johnson
Richard Nixon
File:Nixon Contact Sheet WHPO-E1677 (cropped).jpg J. Fred Buzhardt August 20, 1970 – January 4, 1974 Melvin Laird
Elliot Richardson
James R. Schlesinger		 Richard Nixon
File:Blank.svg Leonard Niederlehner (Acting) May 22, 1973 – March 13, 1974 James R. Schlesinger
File:Martin Richard Hoffmann.jpg Martin Richard Hoffmann March 14, 1974 – August 5, 1975 Richard Nixon
Gerald Ford
File:Blank.svg Leonard Niederlehner (Acting) August 6, 1975 – January 1, 1976 James R. Schlesinger
Donald Rumsfeld		 Gerald Ford
File:Blank.svg Richard A. Wiley January 2, 1976 – January 15, 1977 Donald Rumsfeld
File:Blank.svg Deanne C. Siemer April 28, 1977 – October 15, 1979 Harold Brown Jimmy Carter
File:Blank.svg Leonard Niederlehner (Acting) October 15, 1979 – February 1, 1980
File:TogoDWest.jpg Togo D. West Jr. February 1, 1980 – January 20, 1981
File:Blank.svg Leonard Niederlehner (Acting) January 20, 1981 – April 1, 1981 Caspar Weinberger Ronald Reagan
File:William Howard Taft IV, Deptuty Secretary of Defense, official portrait.JPEG William Howard Taft IV April 2, 1981 – May 2, 1984
File:Portrait of Chapman Beecher Cox.jpg Chapman B. Cox May 3, 1984 – December 16, 1985
File:Portrait of H. Lawrence Garrett III.jpg Henry L. Garrett III February 5, 1986 – August 6, 1987
File:Blank.svg Leonard Niederlehner (Acting) August 7, 1987 – October 25, 1987
File:Portrait of Kathleen A. Buck, Air Force General Counsel DF-SC-87-03100 (6412597).jpg Kathleen A. Buck October 26, 1987 – December 30, 1989 Caspar Weinberger
Frank Carlucci
William Howard Taft IV
Dick Cheney		 Ronald Reagan
George H. W. Bush
File:Portrait of Terrence O'Donnell.jpg Terrence O'Donnell October 30, 1989 – March 6, 1992 Dick Cheney George H. W. Bush
File:Portrait of C. Paul Beach, Jr.jpg C. Paul Beach Jr. (Acting) March 7, 1992 – August 11, 1992
File:Portrait of David S. Addington, Special Assistant to Secretary of Defense.jpg David Addington August 12, 1992 – January 20, 1993
File:Blank.svg John H. McNeil (Acting) January 20, 1993 – May 5, 1993 Les Aspin Bill Clinton
File:Portrait of Jamie Gorelick, General Counsel, Department of Defense.jpg Jamie Gorelick May 5, 1993 – March 17, 1994 Lee Aspin
William Perry
File:Portrait of Stephen W. Preston.jpg Stephen W. Preston (Acting) March 28, 1994 – September 28, 1994 William Perry
File:Judith Miller DoD.jpg Judith A. Miller September 29, 1994 – November 7, 1999 William Perry
William Cohen
File:Portrait of Douglas A. Dworkin.jpg Douglas A. Dworkin November 7, 1999 – June 14, 2000 (Acting)
June 14, 2000 – January 19, 2001		 William Cohen
File:Portrait of William J. Haynes II.jpg William J. Haynes II May 24, 2001 – February 26, 2008[2] Donald Rumsfeld
Robert Gates		 George W. Bush
File:Jeh Johnson official portrait 2011.jpg Jeh Johnson February 10, 2009 – December 31, 2012 Robert Gates
Leon Panetta		 Barack Obama
File:Robert S. Taylor DoD.jpg Robert S. Taylor (Acting)[3] January 1, 2013 – October 25, 2013 Leon Panetta
Chuck Hagel
File:Stephen W. Preston official photo.jpg Stephen W. Preston October 25, 2013 – June 2015 Chuck Hagel
Ashton Carter
File:Robert S. Taylor DoD.jpg Robert S. Taylor (Acting)[3] June 2015 – June 14, 2016 Ashton Carter
File:Jennifer M. O'Connor DoD.jpg Jennifer M. O'Connor June 14, 2016 – January, 20 2017 Ashton Carter
File:William S. Castle official photo.jpg William S. Castle (Acting) August 2017 – July 2018 James Mattis Donald Trump
File:Paul C. Ney Jr. official photo.jpg Paul C. Ney Jr. August 20, 2018 – January 20, 2021 James Mattis
Mark Esper
Christopher C. Miller (acting)
File:Beth George.jpg Beth George (Acting) January 20, 2021 – August 2, 2021 David Norquist (acting)
Lloyd Austin		 Joe Biden
File:Caroline Krass, DOD General Counsel.jpg Caroline Krass August 2, 2021 – present Lloyd Austin

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Department of Defense Key Officials". Historical Office, OSD. 2004. http://osdhistory.defense.gov/docs/DOD%20Key%20Officials%201947-2004.pdf. 
  2. ↑ "Pentagon lawyer to leave administration: The Swamp". Swamppolitics.com. 2008-02-26. http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/02/pentagon_lawyer_to_leave_admin.html. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "General Counsel Bio". Dod.gov. http://www.dod.gov/dodgc/gc_bio.html. 

External links

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