Robert Michael Gates was born on September 25,1943 and is an American intelligence analyst and university president who served as the twenty-second United States secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011.
54 Facts About Robert Gates
2.
Robert Gates was originally appointed by President George W Bush and was retained by President Barack Obama.
3.
Robert Gates continued to serve as secretary of defense in President Barack Obama's administration and retired in 2011.
4.
Robert Gates was presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, by President Obama during his retirement ceremony.
5.
In 2012, Robert Gates was elected as a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.
6.
Robert Gates attained the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America and received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award and Silver Buffalo Award from the BSA as an adult.
7.
Robert Gates graduated from Wichita High School East in 1961.
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Robert Gates is a Vigil Honor member within the Order of the Arrow, BSA's National Honor Society.
9.
Robert Gates was selected as the 2017 BSA National Alumnus of the Year.
10.
Robert Gates completed his PhD in Russian and Soviet history at Georgetown University in 1974.
11.
Robert Gates married Rebecca "Becky" Gates on January 7,1967, and they have two children.
12.
Robert Gates left the CIA in 1974 to serve on the staff of the National Security Council.
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Robert Gates returned to the CIA in late 1979, serving briefly as the director of the Strategic Evaluation Center, Office of Strategic Research.
14.
Robert Gates was Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs from March until August 1989, and was Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Adviser from August 1989 until November 1991.
15.
Robert Gates was nominated to become the Director of Central Intelligence in early 1987.
16.
Robert Gates withdrew his name after it became clear the Senate would reject the nomination due to controversy about his role in the Iran-Contra Affair.
17.
In 1984, as deputy director of CIA, Robert Gates advocated that the US initiate a bombing campaign against Nicaragua and that the US do everything in its power short of direct military invasion of the country to remove the Sandinista government.
18.
Bush nominated Robert Gates to be Director of Central Intelligence.
19.
George subpoenaed Robert Gates to testify as a defense witness at George's first trial in the summer of 1994, but Robert Gates was never called.
20.
Robert Gates evaluated student theses for the International Studies Program of the University of Washington.
21.
Robert Gates has written numerous articles on government and foreign policy and has been a frequent contributor to the op-ed page of The New York Times.
22.
Robert Gates returned on April 21,2009, as the speaker for the annual Aggie Muster ceremony.
23.
Robert Gates has been a member of the board of trustees of Fidelity Investments, and on the board of directors of NACCO Industries, Inc.
24.
Robert Gates is a former president of the National Eagle Scout Association.
25.
In January 2004, Robert Gates co-chaired a Council on Foreign Relations task force on US relations towards Iran.
26.
At the time of his nomination by President George W Bush to the position of Secretary of Defense, Gates was a member of the Iraq Study Group, called the Baker Commission, which was expected to issue its report in November 2006, following the mid-term election on November 7.
27.
Robert Gates was replaced by former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger.
28.
Robert Gates said in a 2005 discussion with the university's Academy for Future International Leaders that he had tentatively decided to accept the DNI position out of a sense of duty and had written an email that would be sent to students during the press conference to announce his decision, explaining that he was leaving to serve the US .
29.
On November 8,2006, after the 2006 midterm election, President George W Bush announced his intent to nominate Gates to succeed the resigning Donald Rumsfeld as US Secretary of Defense.
30.
Robert Gates was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate Armed Services Committee on December 5,2006.
31.
Under the Bush administration, Robert Gates directed the war in Iraq's troop surge, a marked change in tactics from his predecessor.
32.
On June 8,2007, Robert Gates announced that he would not recommend the renomination of Peter Pace, the Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, due to anticipated difficulties with the confirmation process.
33.
On June 5,2008, in response to the findings on Air Force misshipments of nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons components, Robert Gates announced the resignations of Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne and Air Force Chief of Staff Michael Moseley.
34.
On December 1,2008, President-elect Obama announced that Robert Gates would remain in his position as Secretary of Defense during his administration, reportedly for at least the first year of Obama's presidency.
35.
Robert Gates was the fourteenth Cabinet member in history to serve under two presidents of different parties, and the first to do so as Secretary of Defense.
36.
One of the first priorities under President Barack Obama's administration for Robert Gates was a review of US policy and strategy in Afghanistan.
37.
Robert Gates removed General David D McKiernan from command in Afghanistan on May 6,2009 and replaced him with General Stanley A McChrystal.
38.
In December 2009, Robert Gates visited Afghanistan following President Barack Obama's announcement of the deployment of 30,000 additional personnel against the Taliban insurgency.
39.
Robert Gates announced in February 2010 that the department would lift its ban on women serving on submarines.
40.
Robert Gates prepared the armed forces for the repeal of the don't ask, don't tell policy.
41.
In March 2011, Robert Gates directed the role of the United States armed forces in the 2011 military intervention in Libya.
42.
Robert Gates was photographed in the White House Situation Room photograph taken on May 1,2011, by Pete Souza during the raid that killed Al-Qaeda terrorist organization leader Osama Bin Laden.
43.
Robert Gates officially retired as Secretary of Defense on July 1,2011, and was presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, by President Obama during his retirement ceremony.
44.
Robert Gates called this the "nation's first truly 21st century defense budget".
45.
Secretary Robert Gates said that "It is important that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past, where tough economic times or the winding down of a military campaign leads to steep and unwise reductions in defense".
46.
Robert Gates said "As a matter of principle and political reality, the Department of Defense cannot expect America's elected representatives to approve budget increases each year unless we are doing a good job, indeed everything possible, to make every dollar count".
47.
On January 16,2008, Robert Gates was quoted in the Los Angeles Times as saying NATO forces in southern Afghanistan do not know how to properly combat a guerrilla insurgency and that could be contributing to rising violence in the country.
48.
Robert Gates took the office of the chancellor on February 3,2012.
49.
Robert Gates is a Principal, along with Condoleezza Rice, Stephen Hadley and Anja Manuel, in RiceHadleyRobert Gates LLC, a strategic consulting firm.
50.
Robert Gates serves as an honorary director on the board of directors at the Atlantic Council.
51.
On May 2,2012, Starbucks Corporation announced that Robert Gates had been elected to the Starbucks board of directors.
52.
Robert Gates will serve on the board's nominating and corporate governance committee.
53.
On October 30,2013, the Boy Scouts of America announced that Robert Gates had been elected to the National executive board.
54.
On May 21,2015, Robert Gates stated that the "status quo [ban on gay adult leaders] in [the BSA] movement's membership standards cannot be sustained" and that he would no longer seek to revoke the charters of scout units that accept gay adult leaders.