James R. Schlesinger

James Schlesinger serves as chairman of the MITRE Corporation. He is also a consultant to the Departments of Defense and State, member of the Defense Policy Board, fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, member of the American Academy of Diplomacy, director of the Sandia National Corporation, counselor and trustee of CSIS, an honorary director of the Atlantic Council, chairman of the Advisory Council of the Center of the National Interest, and on the Board of Governors of the Henry M. Jackson Foundation. Dr. Schlesinger was the nation's first secretary of energy from 1977-79, taking the oath of office one day after President Carter signed the legislation creating the department. In the previous year, President-elect Carter had asked Dr. Schlesinger to become assistant to the president and he had to draft a plan for the establishment of the Department of Energy and a national energy policy. From 1973-75, Dr. Schlesinger was secretary of defense. Immediately prior to this appointment, he served as director of central intelligence. From 1971-73, he was asked to be the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission by President Nixon. In 1969, Dr. Schlesinger became the assistant director of the U.S. Bureau of the Budget (later the Office of Management and Budget), where he also served as acting deputy director. He was a senior staff member at the RAND Corporation from 1963-67 and also served there as director of strategic studies from 1967-69. He also served as consultant to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and to the Bureau of the Budget. From 1955-1963, he was an assistant and then associate professor of economics at the University of Virginia. Dr. Schlesinger has also served on many government commissions and advisory groups, including the Secretary's Task Force on DOD Nuclear Weapons Management; the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the U.S; the Panel to Assess the Reliability, Safety, and Security of the U.S. Nuclear Stockpile; the U.S. Commission on National Security/21st Century (Hart-Rudman Commission); the Defense Science Board (DSB) Task Force on DOD Energy Strategy and the DSB Task Force on the Future of the Global Positioning System (GPS);  International Security Advisory Board;  the President's Blue Ribbon Task Group on Nuclear Weapons Program Management; the Governor's Commission on Virginia's Future; and the President's Commission on Strategic Forces. Dr. Schlesinger has been awarded 13 honorary doctorate degrees and is the recipient of the National Security Medal and the DOD Eugene G. Fubini Award, as well as six other departmental and agency medals. Dr. Schlesinger is the author of several books and numerous articles. He received a bachelor's degree, summa cum laude, from Harvard College, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and was selected for the Frederick Sheldon Prize Fellowship. He received both his master's and doctoral degrees from Harvard University.