United States Secretary of the Navy

statutory office and the head of the U.S. Department of the Navy

The United States Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) 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.

Secretaries of the Navy change

Continental Congress change

Picture Name Term of Office
  Joseph Hewes 1776 - 1778

Cabinet change

No. Picture Name State Term of Office Served under
1   Benjamin Stoddert Maryland June 18, 1798 - March 31, 1801 John Adams
2   Robert Smith Maryland July 27, 1801 - March 4, 1809 Thomas Jefferson
3   Paul Hamilton South Carolina May 15, 1809 - December 31, 1812 James Madison
4   William Jones Pennsylvania January 19, 1813 - December 1, 1814 James Madison
5   Benjamin Williams Crowninshield Massachusetts January 16, 1815 - September 30, 1818 James Madison, James Monroe
6   Smith Thompson New York January 1, 1819 - August 31, 1823 James Monroe
7   Samuel Lewis Southard New Jersey September 16, 1823 - March 4, 1829 James Monroe, John Quincy Adams
8   John Branch North Carolina March 9, 1829 - May 12, 1831 Andrew Jackson
9   Levi Woodbury New Hampshire May 23, 1831 - June 30, 1834 Andrew Jackson
10   Mahlon Dickerson New Jersey July 1, 1834 - June 30, 1838 Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren
11   James Kirke Paulding New York July 1, 1838 - March 4, 1841 Martin Van Buren
12 George Edmund Badger North Carolina March 6, 1841 - September 11, 1841 William Henry Harrison, John Tyler
13   Abel Parker Upshur Virginia October 11, 1841 - July 23, 1843 John Tyler
14   David Henshaw Massachusetts July 24, 1843 - February 18, 1844 John Tyler
15   Thomas Walker Gilmer Virginia February 19, 1844 - February 28, 1844 John Tyler
16   John Young Mason Virginia March 26, 1844 - March 4, 1845 John Tyler
17   George Bancroft Massachusetts March 11, 1845 - September 9, 1846 James Knox Polk
18   John Young Mason Virginia September 10, 1846 - March 4, 1849 James Knox Polk
19   William Ballard Preston Virginia March 8, 1849 - July 22, 1850 Zachary Taylor
20   William Alexander Graham North Carolina August 2, 1850 - July 25, 1852 Millard Fillmore
21   John Pendleton Kennedy Maryland July 26, 1852 - March 4, 1853 Millard Fillmore
22   James Cochran Dobbin North Carolina March 8, 1853 - March 4, 1857 Franklin Pierce
23   Isaac Toucey Connecticut March 7, 1857 - March 4, 1861 James Buchanan
24 Gideon Welles Connecticut March 7, 1861 - March 4, 1869 Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson
25   Adolph Edward Borie Pennsylvania March 9, 1869 - June 25, 1869 Ulysses S. Grant
26   George Maxwell Robeson New Jersey June 26, 1869 - March 4, 1877 Ulysses S. Grant
27   Richard Wigginton Thompson Indiana March 13, 1877 - December 20, 1880 Rutherford B. Hayes
28   Nathan Goff, Jr. West Virginia January 7, 1881 - March 4, 1881 Rutherford B. Hayes
29   William Henry Hunt Louisiana March 7, 1881 - April 16, 1882 James Garfield, Chester A. Arthur
30 William Eaton Chandler New Hampshire April 16, 1882 - March 4, 1885 Chester A. Arthur
31   William Collins Whitney New York March 7, 1885 - March 4, 1889 Grover Cleveland
32   Benjamin Franklin Tracy New York March 6, 1889 - March 4, 1893 Benjamin Harrison
33   Hilary Abner Herbert Alabama March 7, 1893 - March 4, 1897 Grover Cleveland
34   John Davis Long Massachusetts March 6, 1897 - April 30, 1902 William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt
35   William Henry Moody Massachusetts May 1, 1902 - June 30, 1904 Theodore Roosevelt
36   Paul Morton July 1, 1904 - June 30, 1905 Theodore Roosevelt
37   Charles Joseph Bonaparte Maryland July 1, 1905 - December 16, 1906 Theodore Roosevelt
38   Victor Howard Metcalf California December 17, 1906 - November 30, 1908 Theodore Roosevelt
39   Truman Handy Newberry Michigan December 1, 1908 - March 4, 1909 Theodore Roosevelt
40   George von Lengerke Meyer Massachusetts March 6, 1909 - March 4, 1913 William Howard Taft
41   Josephus Daniels North Carolina March 5, 1913 - March 4, 1921 Woodrow Wilson
42   Edwin Denby Michigan March 6, 1921 - March 10, 1924 Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge
43   Curtis Dwight Wilbur California March 19, 1924 - March 4, 1929 Calvin Coolidge
44   Charles Francis Adams III Massachusetts March 5, 1929 - March 4, 1933 Herbert Hoover
45   Claude Augustus Swanson Virginia March 4, 1933 - July 7, 1939 Franklin D. Roosevelt
46   Charles Edison New Jersey January 2, 1940 - June 24, 1940 Franklin D. Roosevelt
47   William Franklin Knox Illinois July 11, 1940 - April 28, 1944 Franklin D. Roosevelt
48   James Vincent Forrestal New York May 19, 1944 - September 17, 1947 Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman

Secretaries of the Navy (Department of Defense) change

No. Picture 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   Jim 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. 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 - March 13, 2009[1] George W. Bush
  B. J. Penn (acting) March 13, 2009[1] - May 19, 2009[2] Barack Obama
27   Ray Mabus May 19, 2009[1] - January 20, 2017 Barack Obama
  Sean Stackley (acting) January 20, 2017-August 3, 2017 Donald Trump
28   Richard V. Spencer August 3, 2017-November 24, 2019 Donald Trump
  Thomas Modly (acting) November 24, 2019-May 29, 2020 Donald Trump
29   Kenneth Braithwaite May 29, 2020-January 20, 2021 Donald Trump
30   Carlos Del Toro Since August 7, 2021 Joe Biden

References change

""Department of the Navy, Office of the General Counsel (DON-OGC) - OGC History"". Archived from the original on July 24, 2007. Retrieved September 23, 2007.

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Navy Secretary Departs Office" (Press release). United States Department of Defense. 2009-03-13. Retrieved 2009-05-18. The 74th Secretary of the Navy, Donald C. Winter, resigned his office today as planned. Winter had agreed to remain in office until March 13, 2009, to ease the transition of the Department of Defense. [...] BJ Penn will be the acting Secretary of the Navy until the Senate confirms a nominee chosen by President Barack Obama.
  2. Staff reporter (2005-05-19). "Mabus Sworn in as New Navy Secretary". NNS. Retrieved 2009-05-20. Ray Mabus, former Mississippi governor and U.S. ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was sworn in May 19 as the 75th secretary of the Navy. (Archived by WebCite at WebCite)