Facts About Robert Gates
Posted 11/8/06
- He was born Sept. 24, 1943, in Wichita, Kan.
- In 1965, he graduated from the College of William and Mary, where he was named the graduate "who has made the greatest contribution to his fellow man." He holds a master's degree in history from Indiana University and a doctorate in Russian and Soviet history from Georgetown University.
- He attained the rank of Eagle Scout, received the Distinguished Eagle Scout award, and is president of the National Eagle Scout Association.
- In November 1991, he became CIA director after a lengthy nomination process tainted by the Iran-contra affair. He is the only career officer in CIA history to rise from entry-level employee to director. During his confirmation hearing, he told the Senate committee, "I arrived in Washington 25 years ago … with everything I owned in the back of a 1965 Mustang and no money." He served as director until Jan. 20, 1993.
- In 1996, he published his memoir, From the Shadows: the Ultimate Insider's Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War.
- He assumed the presidency of Texas A&M University in 2002.
- In early 2005, he turned down a request from the White House to become the first director of national intelligence. John Negroponte took the job.
- In December 2005, he was elected chairman of the Independent Trustees of the Fidelity Funds. Gates said that he has missed only one meeting since he was named to the board in 1997. It was held the weekend that Texas A&M dedicated a memorial to students who had died in a bonfire accident.
- In March 2006, he joined a bipartisan group responsible for assessing the Bush administration's Iraq policies.
- Friends and coworkers have described him as tenacious and driven, with tremendous powers of concentration and an ability to distill vast amounts of information.
Sources:
- Associated Press
- Boston Globe
- National Society of Collegiate Scholars
- The New York Times
- The Oklahoman
- Texas A&M University
- Washington Post