| Leon Panetta |
 |
| 23rd United States Secretary of Defense |
| Incumbent |
Assumed office
July 1, 2011 |
| President |
Barack Obama |
| Deputy |
William Lynn
Ashton Carter |
| Preceded by |
Robert Gates |
| Director of the Central Intelligence Agency |
In office
February 13, 2009 – June 30, 2011 |
| President |
Barack Obama |
| Deputy |
Stephen Kappes
Michael Morell |
| Preceded by |
Michael Hayden |
| Succeeded by |
Michael Morell (Acting)
David Petraeus |
| 18th White House Chief of Staff |
In office
July 17, 1994 – January 20, 1997 |
| President |
Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by |
Mack McLarty |
| Succeeded by |
Erskine Bowles |
| 29th Director of the Office of Management and Budget |
In office
January 21, 1993 – July 17, 1994 |
| President |
Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by |
Richard Darman |
| Succeeded by |
Alice Rivlin |
| Chairman of the House Committee on the Budget |
In office
January 3, 1989 – January 21, 1993 |
| Preceded by |
William Gray |
| Succeeded by |
Martin Sabo |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's 17th district |
In office
January 3, 1993 – January 21, 1993 |
| Preceded by |
Burt Talcott |
| Succeeded by |
Sam Farr |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's 16th district |
In office
January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1993 |
| Preceded by |
Burt Talcott |
| Succeeded by |
Don Edwards |
| Personal details |
| Born |
Leon Edward Panetta
(1938-06-28) June 28, 1938 (age 73)
Monterey, California, U.S. |
| Political party |
Democratic Party (1971–present) |
Other political
affiliations |
Republican Party (Before 1971) |
| Spouse(s) |
Sylvia |
| Alma mater |
Santa Clara University |
| Profession |
Lawyer
Professor
Politician
Statesman |
| Religion |
Roman Catholicism |
| Military service |
| Service/branch |
United States Army |
| Years of service |
1964–1966 |
| Rank |
 First Lieutenant |
| Awards |
Army Commendation Medal |
Leon Edward Panetta (born June 28, 1938) is the 23rd and current United States Secretary of Defense, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama since 2011. Prior to taking office, he served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. An Italian-American Democratic politician, lawyer, and professor, Panetta served as President Bill Clinton's White House Chief of Staff from 1994 to 1997, Director of the Office of Management and Budget from 1993–1994, and was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1993. He is the founder of the Panetta Institute for Public Policy, served as Distinguished Scholar to Chancellor Charles B. Reed of the California State University System and professor of public policy at Santa Clara University.
In January 2009, President Obama nominated Panetta for the post of CIA Director.[1][2] Panetta was confirmed by the full Senate in February 2009. As director of the CIA, Panetta oversaw the U.S. military operation that led to Osama bin Laden's death.
On April 28, 2011, Obama announced the nomination of Panetta as Defense Secretary when Robert Gates retired. In June the Senate confirmed Panetta unanimously as Secretary of Defense. He assumed the office on July 1.[3] David Petraeus took over as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency on September 6.[4]
Leon Panetta was born in Monterey, California, the son of Carmelina Maria and Carmelo Frank Panetta, Italian immigrants from Siderno in Calabria[5] who owned a restaurant in Monterey. He was raised in the Monterey area, and attended Catholic schools San Carlos Grammar School and Carmel Mission School. He continued his education at Monterey High School, a public school where he became involved in student politics, and was a JSA member.[6] As a junior he was Vice President of the Student Body, and became President of the Student Body as a senior.[7]
In 1956, he entered Santa Clara University, and in 1960 he graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. He also received a Juris Doctor in 1963 from the Santa Clara University School of Law. In 1964, he joined the United States Army as a Second Lieutenant, where he served as an officer in Army Military Intelligence.[8] There he received the Army Commendation Medal, and was discharged in 1966 as a First Lieutenant.[9]
Panetta started in politics in 1966 as a legislative assistant to Republican Senator Thomas Kuchel, the United States Senate Minority Whip from California, whom Panetta has called "a tremendous role model".[10]
In 1969 he became the assistant to Robert H. Finch, Secretary of the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare under the Nixon administration. Soon thereafter he was appointed Director of the Office for Civil Rights.[11]
Panetta chose to enforce civil rights and equal education laws.[citation needed] Secretary Robert Finch and Assistant Secretary John Veneman refused to fire Panetta, threatening to resign if forced to do so.[citation needed] A few weeks later in 1970, Panetta resigned and left Washington to work as Executive Assistant for John Lindsay, the Republican Mayor of New York City. He wrote about this experience in his 1971 book Bring Us Together."
He moved back to Monterey to practice law at Panetta, Thompson & Panetta from 1971 through to 1976.[12]
Panetta switched to the Democratic Party in 1971, because he thought that the Republican Party was moving away from the political center."Leon Panetta B.S. '60, J.D. '63". Lawyers Who Lead. Santa Clara University School of Law. http://law.scu.edu/lawyerswholead/leon-panetta.cfm. Retrieved March 29, 2012. In 1976, Panetta was elected to the U.S. Congress to represent California's 16th congressional district, unseating incumbent Republican Burt Talcott with 53% of the vote (the 17th district after the 1990 census), and was reelected for nine terms.[13][14][15]
During his time in Congress, his work concentrated mostly on budget issues, civil rights, education, healthcare. agriculture, immigration, and environmental issues, particularly preventing oil drilling off the California coast. He wrote the Hunger Prevention Act (Public Law 100-435) of 1988 and the Fair Employment Practices Resolution. He was the author of legislation establishing the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary,[16] and legislation providing Medicare coverage for hospice service.
His positions included:
A member of the U.S. House Committee on the Budget from 1979 to 1985 — and its chairman from 1989 to 1993 — he played a key role in the 1990 Budget Summit.[17][18]
Though elected to a ninth term, he left the House in 1993 after President Bill Clinton selected him to be Director of the United States Office of Management and Budget. He is credited with developing the budget package that would eventually result in the balanced budget of 1998. On July 17, 1994, he was appointed White House Chief of Staff by Clinton, a position he held until January 20, 1997. He was an important negotiator of the 1996 budget, which was another important step towards balancing the budget.[19][20]
President Barack Obama nominated him to the post of Director of the Central Intelligence Agency on January 5, 2009.[1]
After his selection, journalists and politicians raised concerns about his lack of intelligence experience.
Washington Post columnist David Ignatius said that Panetta did have tangential exposure to intelligence operations as Director of the OMB and as Chief of Staff for President Clinton, where he "sat in on the daily intelligence briefings as chief of staff, and he reviewed the nation's most secret intelligence-collection and covert-action programs in his previous post as director of the Office of Management and Budget".[21] Senator Dianne Feinstein, the California Democratic chairwoman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, wasn't happy with the Leon Panetta selection:
- “I was not informed about the selection of Leon Panetta to be the CIA Director. I know nothing about this, other than what I’ve read. My position has consistently been that I believe the Agency is best-served by having an intelligence professional in charge at this time.”[22]
Former CIA officer Ishmael Jones stated, that Panetta was a wise choice because of his close personal connection to the President and lack of exposure to the CIA bureaucracy.[23][24]
On February 12, 2009, Panetta was confirmed in the full Senate by voice vote.[25]
Panetta as Director of the CIA.
On February 19, 2009, Leon Panetta was sworn in as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency by Vice President Joe Biden before an audience of CIA employees. Panetta reportedly received a "rock star welcome" from his new subordinates.[26]
In March 2009, Panetta visited India to discuss a host of issues including common strategy on dealing with Islamic extremism and Taliban. This was his first international visit since he assumed office.[27]
Panetta supported U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan, which he identified as the "most effective weapon" against senior Al-Qaeda leadership.[28][29] These attacks increased significantly under Panetta, with as many as 50 suspected Al-Qaeda militants being killed in May 2009 alone.[30][31][32]
As Director of the CIA, Panetta presided over the operations that led to Osama bin Laden's death on May 1, 2011.
Panetta being sworn in as Secretary of Defense.
On April 28, 2011, President Obama announced the nomination of Panetta as United States Secretary of Defense as a replacement for retiring Secretary Robert Gates. On June 21, 2011, the United States Senate confirmed Panetta in a 100-0 vote.[33] He was sworn in on July 1, 2011. One of Panetta's first major acts as Defense Secretary was to jointly certify with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff that the military was prepared to repeal "don't ask, don't tell", triggering final repeal after 60 days.
In August 2011 Panetta said that deeper cuts in the defense budget risked hollowing out the military and would hamper Pentagon efforts to deal with rising powers such as China, North Korea and Iran. It was the second day in a row that Panetta issued a public warning to Congress not to go beyond the roughly $400 billion in defense cuts required over the next decade under the debt reduction bill signed by President Obama. "You cannot deal with the size deficits the country is confronting by simply cutting the discretionary side of the budget," he said, referring to defense and other portions of the budget that Congress appropriates annually. "You have got to look at the mandatory side of the budget, which is two-thirds of the federal budget, and you also have to look at revenue."[34]
Like Gates before him, Panetta has fielded questions from the troops about their entitlements. He has said that future soldiers may see changes in retirement benefits and that healthcare may need reforms to protect care while reining in costs.[35]
When the supercommittee did not approve a deficit reduction plan[36] Panetta said “The failure of the congressional supercommittee to reach an agreement on deficit reduction is a setback for the country's efforts to achieve fiscal responsibility while protecting our national security”. He added that “If Congress fails to act over the next year, the Department of Defense will face devastating, automatic, across-the-board cuts that will tear a seam in the nation's defense”.[37]
I join the President in his call for Congress to avoid an easy way out of this crisis,...Congress cannot simply turn off the sequester mechanism, but instead must pass deficit reduction at least equal to the $1.2 trillion it was charged to pass under the
Budget Control Act of 2011.
In January 2012 Panetta, speaking to soldiers at Fort Bliss in Texas, said that the United States is keeping all its options on the table, including military ones with regard to Iran. “Clearly there are those areas that for us are red lines,” Panetta said. “Number one, we cannot allow them to develop a nuclear weapon. That’s a red line. Number two, we cannot tolerate Iran blocking the Straits of Hormuz.”[38]
Panetta and his wife founded the Leon & Sylvia Panetta Institute for Public Policy in December 1998, where they serve as the Institute's directors. The Institute is located at California State University, Monterey Bay. Panetta was instrumental in creating CSU Monterey Bay by converting Fort Ord, where he was chief of operations and planning of the intelligence section when he was in the army, into the university. Panetta served as Distinguished Scholar to the Chancellor of California State University[39] and as Presidential Professor at Santa Clara University. He was urged to consider running for Governor of California during the recall election in 2003, but declined in part because of the short time available to raise money.[40]
Panetta has long been an advocate for the health of the world's oceans. As a member of Congress from California’s 16th District, he wrote numerous successful acts of Congress to protect the California coast, including legislation creating the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.[39][41][42] In 2003, Panetta was named chairman and commissioner of the Pew Oceans Commission, which in 2005 combined with the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy to establish the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative. Panetta now co-chairs the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative with Admiral James D. Watkins, U.S. Navy (Ret.).[43] Panetta continues to pursue his commitment to ocean and marine life issues, serving as a resource for legislators and the media, advocating for ocean reform on behalf of the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative as well as other ocean organizations, including the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation[44] and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.[45]
In 2006 he was part of the Iraq Study Group, also known as the Baker Commission.[46][47]
In 2009 Panetta delivered the commencement speech to the graduating class at The University of Maryland at College Park, emphasising the importance of public service and leadership.[48][49]
Joint Ocean Commission Initiative[50]
- Commissioner and Co-Chair[51]
Pew Oceans Commission
Bread for the World
National Marine Sanctuary Foundation
- Member of the Board of Directors[53]
National Leadership Roundtable on Church Management
- Board of Directors, 2004–2009
New York Stock Exchange
- Co-chairman of the Corporate Accountability and Listing Standards Committee
- Board of Directors since 1997
Close Up Foundation
- Board of Directors, Member since 1999
Connetics Investor Relations
- Board of Directors since March 2000[54]
Fleishman-Hillard[55]
- Co-chairman of the Corporate Accountability and Listing Standards Committee
- Co-chairman of the Corporate Credibility Advisory practice
- Member of the International Advisory Board
Junior Statesmen Foundation Inc.
Public Policy Institute of California
- Board of Directors since 2007[56]
In June 2002, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops appointed Panetta to their National Review Board,[57] which was created to look into the Catholic Church's sexual abuse scandal. This created controversy because of Panetta's pro-choice stands on abortion and other views seen as conflicting with those of the Church.
Panetta married Sylvia Marie Varni,[58] who administered his home district offices during his terms in Congress.[59][60]
He and his wife live on his family's twelve-acre (49,000 m²) walnut farm in Carmel Valley, California. They have three sons and three grandchildren.[16]
- ^ a b "Leon Panetta Tapped to Head CIA, Prompting Criticism From Lawmakers". Fox News. January 5, 2009. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/01/05/leon-panetta-tapped-head-cia-sources-say/.
- ^ "Obama names Panetta for CIA". Associated Press. January 9, 2009. http://www.seattlepi.com/national/1152ap_obama_intelligence.html. Retrieved January 9, 2009. [dead link]
- ^ "Obama bids farewell to defense secretary - politics - More politics - msnbc.com". MSNBC. 2011-06-30. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43591679/ns/politics-more_politics/. Retrieved 2011-12-20.
- ^ Quemener, Tangi (September 6, 2011). "Petraeus sworn in as new CIA chief". Agence France-Presse. http://news.yahoo.com/petraeus-sworn-cia-chief-152014281.html. Retrieved September 6, 2011.
- ^ http://www.politicalfamilytree.com/samples%20content/members/all_others/Panetta-CA-1.pdf
- ^ "Hon. Leon Panetta Appointed CIA Director". Alumni. JSA and the Junior Statesmen Foundation. May 21, 2009. http://www.jsa.org/alumni-friends/hon.-leon-panetta-appointed-cia-director.html. Retrieved December 11, 2009. [dead link]
- ^ Profile of Leon Panetta, Santa Clara University Law School web site, accessed April 28, 2011
- ^ "Message to the Department of Defense from Defense Secretary Leon Panetta". http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=14621. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
- ^ Biography, Leon Panetta, Public Broadcasting Service program News Hour guest profiles, accessed April 28, 2011
- ^ "Conversation with Leon Panetta", p. 2
- ^ Gizzi, John (April 28, 2011), "Leon Panetta: Bipartisan in Spirit but a Liberal at Heart", Human Events
- ^ Study group member profile, Leon Panetta, published by Iraq Study Group, accessed April 28, 2011
- ^ Opinion column, Democrats See Potential Gains, by Matt Pinkus, Congressional Quarterly, published in Eugene Register-Guard, August 23, 1976
- ^ Newspaper article, Democrats in Congress Keep Old Seats, Take 1 From GOP, Los Angeles Times, November 4, 1976
- ^ Newspaper article, State Democrats Gain By One Seat In Congress, by Associated Press, published in Modesto Bee, November 4, 1976
- ^ a b "Hon. Leon E. Panetta", U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
- ^ Newspaper article, Budget Summit Opens, by Tom Raum, Associated Press, published in Hendersonville Times-News, May 16, 1990
- ^ Newspaper article, As Budget Chief, Panetta May Be Frugal Deficit Foe, Christian Science Monitor, December 11, 1992
- ^ Newspaper column, Clinton Is Winning On Balanced Budget, by Morton Kondracke, Pomeroy-Middleton Daily Sentinel, January 23, 1996
- ^ Newspaper article, Flexibility Shown in Budget Talks, by Associated Press, published in Williamson Daily News, September 17, 1996
- ^ Ignatius, David (January 7, 2009). "A Surprise for Langley". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/06/AR2009010602826.html. Retrieved January 23, 2009.
- ^ "Dianne Feinstein Not Too Pleased With Panetta Pick « The Washington Independent". Washingtonindependent.com. http://washingtonindependent.com/23827/dianne-feinstein-not-too-pleased-with-panetta-pick. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
- ^ "JONES: Where loyalty is vital". Washington Times. January 8, 2009. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jan/08/where-loyalty-is-vital/. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
- ^ "Panetta a ‘Brave’ Choice, Says Former CIA Agent – The Corner – National Review Online". Corner.nationalreview.com. January 6, 2009. http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MDQ3ZmRmNTQyY2ZiNzY5NjIxMzk3NjJkZTNhNGMzNTY. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
- ^ "Senate confirms Panetta as CIA director". Associated Press. February 12, 2009. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jyswk6L_yXx0g3aoXJS8wm6Xj0vQD96ACPMG0. Retrieved February 12, 2009.
- ^ "Leon Panetta Gets a Rock Star Welcome at CIA Headquarters". The Wall Street Journal. February 19, 2009. http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2009/02/19/leon-panetta-gets-a-rock-star-welcome-at-cia-headquarters-2/.
- ^ "Report: U.S. CIA chief to be in India to discuss terrorism, Taliban". News.xinhuanet.com. 2009-03-18. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-03/18/content_11030853.htm. Retrieved 2011-12-20.
- ^ CIA Pakistan Campaign Is Working, Director Says, Mark Mazzetti and Helene Cooper, New York Times, February 26, 2009, A15
- ^ Gerstein, Josh. "CIA Director Panetta Warns Against Politicization". NBC New York. http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/us_world/Panetta_warns_against_politicization.html?extpar=polit. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "25 Militants Are Killed In Attack In Pakistan". The New York Times. May 17, 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/world/asia/17pstan.html. Retrieved March 27, 2010.
- ^ Bergen, Peter (June 3, 2009). "The Drone War". NewAmerica.net. http://www.newamerica.net/publications/articles/2009/drone_war_13672. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
- ^ "U.S. Senate Periodical Press Gallery". Senate.gov. http://www.senate.gov/galleries/pdcl/index.htm. Retrieved 2011-12-20.
- ^ Cloud, David S. (2011-08-04). "Panetta warns against defense cuts". Latimes.com. http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-panetta-defense-cuts-20110804,0,6246715.story?track=rss. Retrieved 2011-12-20.
- ^ Pincus, Walter (October 10, 2011). "On Pentagon budget matters, telling it like it is". The Washington Post.
- ^ Lillis, Mike (2011-11-21). "Debt supercommittee dies". Thehill.com. http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/budget/194941-supercommittee-co-chairmen-announce-failure. Retrieved 2011-12-20.
- ^ Bennett, John T.. "Panetta decries Defense cuts, opposes voiding them and blasts Congress". Thehill.com. http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/budget-approriations/195013-panetta-opposes-voiding-additional-dod-cuts-blasts-congress. Retrieved 2011-12-20.
- ^ US and Iran inch closer to military conflict
- ^ a b Panetta Institute – Leon Panetta – retrieved 11/22/2008[dead link]
- ^ Newspaper article, Panetta Doesn't Seek Governorship, San Jose Mercury News, July 20, 2003
- ^ "Joint Ocean Commission Initiative – Panetta bio". Jointoceancommission.org. http://www.jointoceancommission.org/cgi-bin/bios.cgi?panetta. Retrieved 2011-12-20.
- ^ Consortium for Ocean Leadership – Panetta bio[dead link]
- ^ "Watkins bio". Jointoceancommission.org. http://www.jointoceancommission.org/cgi-bin/bios.cgi?watkins. Retrieved 2011-12-20.
- ^ National Marine Sanctuary Foundation – Leon Panetta[dead link]
- ^ "Stanford University, Monterey Bay Aquarium launch center to save oceans". News.mongabay.com. January 9, 2008. http://news.mongabay.com/2008/0109-mbari.html. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
- ^ Television news report transcript, Iraq Survey Group Report Released, by Kim Landers, the World Today, ABC (Australia), December 7, 2006
- ^ Newspaper article, Iraq Study Group to Present Report to Bush, by Brian Knowlton, New York Times, December 3, 2006
- ^ Newspaper column, Commencement Season, by Laslo Boyd, The Gazette, Gaithersburg, Maryland, May 22, 2009
- ^ Newspaper article, Panetta Urges Service, Leadership, by Susan Kinzie, Washington Post, May 22, 2009
- ^ http://archive2.globalsolutions.org/publications/interview_leon_panetta_joint_ocean_commission_initiative
- ^ "Joint Ocean Commission Initiative Commissioners". Jointoceancommission.org. http://www.jointoceancommission.org/commissioners.html. Retrieved 2011-12-20.
- ^ "Pew Oceans Commission". Pewoceans.org. http://www.pewoceans.org/commissioners/. Retrieved 2011-12-20.
- ^ NMSF ~~ Board of Directors ~ Ex-Officio Members ~ Jeffery Mora ~~[dead link]
- ^ "Stiefel Laboratories, Inc. | Home". Connetics.com. http://www.connetics.com/2002/about/leadership.html. Retrieved 2011-12-20.
- ^ [2][dead link]
- ^ "Leon E. Panetta". Ppic.org. http://www.ppic.org/main/bio.asp?i=383. Retrieved 2011-12-20.
- ^ "Membership of National Review Board Completed". U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. August 23, 2002. http://www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2002/02-163.shtml. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
- ^ "Sylvia M. Varni", SourceWatch
- ^ O'Shea, Jennifer (January 8, 2009), "10 Things You Didn't Know about Leon Panetta", U.S. News and World Report
- ^ Doyle, Michael (April 27, 2011), "Panetta will Bring a Lifetime of Service to the Pentagon", Modesto Bee, McClatchy Newspapers
- ^ "AFBF Golden Plow Award,". American Farm Bureau Federation. http://www.fb.org/index.php?action=legislative.gp. Retrieved March 08, 2012.
- ^ "Santa Clara (U.) Law School – Law Alumni Special Achievement Award". Law.scu.edu. 2010-04-29. http://law.scu.edu/alumni/achievement-award.cfm. Retrieved 2011-12-20.
- ^ "Speakers for 103rd Commencement". Newswise.com. April 29, 2005. http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/511446/. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
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Panetta, Leon |
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American politician, Secretary of Defense |
| Date of birth |
June 28, 1938 |
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Monterey, California, United States |
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