President Bush's choice for secretary of defense is Robert M. Gates.
Gates is the 22nd president of Texas A&M University, a position he assumed on Aug. 1, 2002.
Gates served as interim dean of the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M from 1999-2001.
He served as director of Central Intelligence from 1991 until 1993. In this position, he headed all foreign intelligence agencies of the United States and directed the Central Intelligence Agency. Gates is the only career officer in CIA's history to rise from entry-level employee to director.
He served as deputy director of Central Intelligence from 1986 until 1989 and as assistant to the president and deputy national security adviser at the White House from Jan. 20, 1989, until Nov. 6, 1991, for President George H.W. Bush.
Gates joined the Central Intelligence Agency in 1966 and spent nearly 27 years as an intelligence professional, serving six presidents. During that period, he spent nearly nine years at the National Security Council, the White House, serving four presidents of both political parties.
Gates has been awarded the National Security Medal, the Presidential Citizens Medal, has twice received the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal and has three times received the CIA's highest award, the Distinguished Intelligence Medal.
He is the author of the memoir "From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insider's Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War," published in 1996.
Gates serves on the board of directors and executive committee of the American Council on Education, the board of directors of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges and the national executive board of the Boy Scouts of America. He is president of the National Eagle Scout Association.
Gates serves as chairman of the Independent Trustees of the Fidelity Funds, the nation's largest mutual fund company, and on the board of directors of NACCO Industries, Inc., Brinker International, Inc. and Parker Drilling Company, Inc.
A native of Kansas, Gates received his bachelor's degree from the College of William and Mary, his master's degree in history from Indiana University and his doctorate in Russian and Soviet history from Georgetown University. Gates is 62, and he and his wife, Becky, have two adult children.
Source: Texas A&M
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