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United States Secretary of the Navy Seal of the United States Department of Navy
In the
United States , the
Secretary of the Navy is the civilian head of the
Department of the Navy . The position was a member of the
President's Cabinet until
1947 , when the Navy, Army, and newly created Air Force were placed in the
Department of Defense and the Secretary of the Navy was placed under the
Secretary of Defense . Naval and Marine personnel informally refer to the Secretary of the Navy as "SECNAV."
Flag of the United States Secretary of the Navy.
The Secretary of the Navy is responsible for, and has the authority under Title 10 of the
United States Code , to conduct all the affairs of the Department of the Navy, including: recruiting, organizing, supplying, equipping, training, mobilizing, and demobilizing. The Secretary also oversees the construction, outfitting, and repair of naval ships, equipment and facilities. SECNAV is responsible for the formulation and implementation of policies and programs that are consistent with the national security policies and objectives established by the President and the Secretary of Defense. The Department of the Navy consists of two uniformed Services: the
United States Navy and the
United States Marine Corps .
The Office of the Secretary of the Navy and its subordinate officials are known collectively as the Navy Secretariat. Other members of the Secretariat include the
Under Secretary of the Navy and the
Assistant Secretaries of the Navy (ASN).
No. Name Term of Office Served under 1 Benjamin Stoddert June 18 , 1798 - March 31 , 1801 John Adams 2 Robert Smith July 27 , 1801 - March 4 , 1809 Thomas Jefferson 3 Paul Hamilton May 15 , 1809 - December 31 , 1812 James Madison 4 William Jones January 19 , 1813 - December 1 , 1814 James Madison 5 Benjamin Williams Crowninshield January 16 , 1815 - September 30 , 1818 James Madison , James Monroe 6 Smith Thompson January 1 , 1819 - August 31 , 1823 James Monroe 7 Samuel L. Southard September 16 , 1823 - March 4 , 1829 James Monroe , John Quincy Adams 8 John Branch March 9 , 1829 - May 12 , 1831 Andrew Jackson 9 Levi Woodbury May 23 , 1823 - June 30 , 1834 Andrew Jackson 10 Mahlon Dickerson July 1 , 1834 - June 30 , 1838 Andrew Jackson , Martin Van Buren 11 James K. Paulding July 1 , 1838 - March 4 , 1841 Martin Van Buren 12 George E. Badger March 6 , 1841 - September 11 , 1841 William Henry Harrison , John Tyler 13 Abel P. Upshur October 11 , 1841 - July 23 , 1843 John Tyler 14 David Henshaw July 24 , 1843 - February 18 , 1844 John Tyler 15 Thomas W. Gilmer February 19 , 1844 - February 28 , 1844 John Tyler 16 John Y. Mason (first time)March 26 , 1844 - March 4 , 1845 John Tyler 17 George Bancroft March 11 , 1845 - September 9 , 1846 James Knox Polk 18 John Y. Mason (second time)September 10 , 1846 - March 4 , 1849 James Knox Polk 19 William B. Preston March 8 , 1849 - July 22 , 1850 Zachary Taylor 20 William A. Graham August 2 , 1850 - July 25 , 1852 Millard Fillmore 21 John P. Kennedy July 26 , 1852 - March 4 , 1853 Millard Fillmore 22 James C. Dobbin March 8 , 1853 - March 4 , 1857 Franklin Pierce 23 Isaac Toucey March 7 , 1857 - March 4 , 1861 James Buchanan 24 Gideon Welles March 7 , 1861 - March 4 , 1869 Abraham Lincoln , Andrew Johnson 25 Adolph E. Borie March 9 , 1869 - June 25 , 1869 Ulysses S. Grant 26 George M. Robeson June 26 , 1869 - March 4 , 1877 Ulysses S. Grant 27 Richard W. Thompson March 13 , 1877 - December 20 , 1880 Rutherford B. Hayes 28 Nathan Goff, Jr. January 7 , 1881 - March 4 , 1881 Rutherford B. Hayes 29 William H. Hunt March 7 , 1881 - April 16 , 1882 James Garfield , Chester A. Arthur 30 William E. Chandler April 16 , 1882 - March 4 , 1885 Chester A. Arthur 31 William C. Whitney March 7 , 1885 - March 4 , 1889 Grover Cleveland 32 Benjamin F. Tracy March 6 , 1889 - March 4 , 1893 Benjamin Harrison 33 Hilary A. Herbert March 7 , 1893 - March 4 , 1897 Grover Cleveland 34 John D. Long March 6 , 1897 - April 30 , 1902 William McKinley , Theodore Roosevelt 35 William H. Moody May 1 , 1902 - June 30 , 1904 Theodore Roosevelt 36 Paul Morton July 1 , 1904 - June 30 , 1905 Theodore Roosevelt 37 Charles J. Bonaparte July 1 , 1905 - December 16 , 1906 Theodore Roosevelt 38 Victor H. Metcalf December 17 , 1906 - November 30 , 1908 Theodore Roosevelt 39 Truman Handy Newberry December 1 , 1908 - March 4 , 1909 Theodore Roosevelt 40 George von Lengerke Meyer March 6 , 1909 - March 4 , 1913 William Howard Taft 41 Josephus Daniels March 5 , 1913 - March 4 , 1921 Woodrow Wilson 42 Edwin C. Denby March 6 , 1921 - March 10 , 1924 Warren G. Harding , Calvin Coolidge 43 Curtis D. Wilbur March 19 , 1924 - March 4 , 1929 Calvin Coolidge 44 Charles Francis Adams March 5 , 1929 - March 4 , 1933 Herbert Hoover 45 Claude A. Swanson March 4 , 1933 - July 7 , 1939 Franklin D. Roosevelt Charles Edison (acting)January 2 , 1940 - June 24 , 1940 Franklin D. Roosevelt 46 Frank Knox July 11 , 1940 - April 28 , 1944 Franklin D. Roosevelt 47 James V. Forrestal May 19 , 1944 - September 17 , 1947 Franklin D. Roosevelt , Harry S. Truman
No. Name Term of Office Served under 1 John L. Sullivan September 18 , 1947 - May 24 , 1949 Harry S. Truman 2 Francis P. Matthews May 25 , 1949 - July 31 , 1951 Harry S. Truman 3 Dan A. Kimball July 31 , 1951 - January 20 , 1953 Harry S. Truman 4 Robert B. Anderson February 4 , 1953 - March 3 , 1954 Dwight D. Eisenhower 5 Charles S. Thomas May 3 , 1954 - April 1 , 1957 Dwight D. Eisenhower 6 Thomas S. Gates April 1 , 1957 - June 8 , 1959 Dwight D. Eisenhower 7 William B. Franke June 8 , 1959 - January 19 , 1961 Dwight D. Eisenhower 8 John B. Connally, Jr January 25 , 1961 - December 20 , 1961 John F. Kennedy 9 Fred Korth January 4 , 1962 - November 1 , 1963 John F. Kennedy Paul B. Fay (acting)November 2 , 1963 - November 28 , 1963 John F. Kennedy , Lyndon B. Johnson 10 Paul H. Nitze November 29 , 1963 - June 30 , 1967 Lyndon B. Johnson Charles F. Baird (acting)July 1 , 1967 - August 31 , 1967 Lyndon B. Johnson 11 Paul R. Ignatius September 1 , 1967 - January 24 , 1969 Lyndon B. Johnson 12 John H. Chafee January 31 , 1969 - May 4 , 1972 Richard M. Nixon 13 John W. Warner May 4 , 1972 - April 8 , 1974 Richard M. Nixon 14 J. William Middendorf, II April 8 , 1974 - January 20 , 1977 Richard M. Nixon , Gerald Ford 15 W. Graham Claytor, Jr. February 14 , 1977 - August 24 , 1979 Jimmy Carter 16 Edward Hidalgo October 24 , 1979 - January 20 , 1981 Jimmy Carter 17 John Lehman February 5 , 1981 - April 10 , 1987 Ronald Reagan 18 James H. Webb May 1 , 1987 - February 23 , 1988 Ronald Reagan 19 William L. Ball March 28 , 1988 - May 15 , 1989 Ronald Reagan , George H.W. Bush 20 Henry L. Garrett III May 15 , 1989 - June 26 , 1992 George H.W. Bush Daniel Howard (acting)June 26 , 1992 - July 7 , 1992 George H.W. Bush 21 Sean O'Keefe October 2 , 1992 - January 20 , 1993 George H.W. Bush Admiral Frank B. Kelso II (acting) January 2 , 1993 - July 21 , 1993 Bill Clinton 22 John H. Dalton July 22 , 1993 - November 16 , 1998 Bill Clinton 23 Richard Danzig November 16 , 1998 - January 20 , 2001 Bill Clinton Robert B. Pirie, Jr. (acting)January 20 , 2001 - May 24 , 2001 George W. Bush 24 Gordon R. England May 24 , 2001 - January 30 , 2003 George W. Bush Susan Livingstone (acting)January 30 , 2003 - February 7 , 2003 George W. Bush Hansford T. Johnson (acting)February 7 , 2003 - September 30 , 2003 George W. Bush 25 Gordon R. England October 1 , 2003 - January 3 , 2006 George W. Bush 26 Donald C. Winter January 3 , 2006 - PresentGeorge W. Bush
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Secretary of the Navy home page *
Navy Organization - The Secretariat
