United States Under Secretary of the Navy

Last updated
United States
Under Secretary of the Navy
United States Department of the Navy Seal.svg
Seal of the Department of the Navy
US-UnderSecretaryOfTheNavy-Flag.svg
Flag of the under secretary of the navy
Brett A. Seidle.jpg
Incumbent
Brett A. Seidle
Acting  
since April 16, 2025
Department of the Navy
Style Mr. Under Secretary
The Honorable
(formal address in writing)
Reports to Secretary of the Navy
Seat The Pentagon, Arlington County, Virginia, United States
NominatorThe president with Senate advice and consent
Term length No fixed term
Constituting instrument 10 U.S.C.   § 8015
FormationAugust 22, 1940
First holder James Forrestal
Succession 17th in SecDef succession by seniority of appointment
DeputyDeputy Under Secretary of the Navy
Salary Executive Schedule, Level III [1]
Website Official website

The under secretary of the navy is the second-highest ranking civilian official in the United States Department of the Navy. The under secretary reports to the secretary of the navy (SECNAV). Before the creation of the under secretary's office, the second-highest civilian at the Department of the Navy was the assistant secretary of the navy.

List of under secretaries of the navy, 1940–present

The following men and women have held the post: [2]

No.PortraitNameAssumed officeLeft office President appointed by Secretary served under
1 James Forrestal - SecOfDef.jpg James V. Forrestal August 22, 1940May 16, 1944 Franklin D. Roosevelt Frank Knox
2 Ralph A. Bard cph.3a40857.jpg Ralph A. Bard June 24, 1944June 30, 1945 James Forrestal
3 No image.svg Artemus Gates July 3, 1945December 31, 1945 Harry S. Truman
4 John L Sullivan SecofNavy.jpg John L. Sullivan June 17, 1946September 18, 1947
5 W. John Kenney.jpg W. John Kenney September 19, 1947September 24, 1949 John L. Sullivan
6 DanAKimball.jpg Dan A. Kimball May 25, 1949July 31, 1951 Francis P. Matthews
7 No image.svg Francis P. Whitehair August 7, 1951January 29, 1953 Dan A. Kimball
8 CharlesSThomas Cropped.jpg Charles S. Thomas February 9, 1953August 5, 1953 Dwight D. Eisenhower Robert B. Anderson
9 Thomas Gates official DoD photo.jpg Thomas S. Gates Jr. October 7, 1953April 1, 1957Robert B. Anderson
Charles Thomas
10 William B Franke Navy Sec.jpg William B. Franke April 17, 1957June 7, 1959 Thomas S. Gates Jr.
11 FredBantz.jpg Fred A. Bantz June 8, 1959January 20, 1961 William B. Franke
12 PaulBFay.jpg Paul B. Fay February 16, 1961January 15, 1965 John F. Kennedy John Connally
Fred Korth
Paul Nitze
13 Kenneth E. BeLieu.jpg Kenneth E. BeLieu February 26, 1965July 1, 1965 Lyndon B. Johnson Paul Nitze
14 No image.svg Robert H. B. Baldwin July 2, 1965July 31, 1967
15 No image.svg Charles F. Baird August 1, 1967January 20, 1969 Paul Robert Ignatius
16 John W Warner Sec of Navy (cropped).jpg John Warner February 11, 1969May 4, 1972 Richard Nixon John Chafee
17 No image.svg Frank P. Sanders May 5, 1972June 29, 1973 John Warner
18 JohnWilliamMiddendorf.jpg J. William Middendorf August 3, 1973June 20, 1974
19 No image.svg David S. Potter August 28, 1974April 1, 1976 Gerald Ford J. William Middendorf
20 No image.svg David R. Macdonald September 14, 1976February 4, 1977
21 R James Woolsey.jpg R. James Woolsey Jr. March 9, 1977December 7, 1979 Jimmy Carter W. Graham Claytor Jr.
22 No image.svg Robert J. Murray February 7, 1980September 29, 1981 Edward Hidalgo
John Lehman
23 No image.svg James F. Goodrich September 29, 1981August 6, 1987 Ronald Reagan John Lehman
24 H. Lawrence GarrettSecretary of the Navy - DPLA - fd6c869685b753e138146fd01e7471c5.jpeg Henry L. Garrett III August 6, 1987May 15, 1989 Jim Webb
William L. Ball
25 J. Daniel Howard, Under Secretary of the Navy (1).jpg J. Daniel Howard August 7, 1989January 20, 1993 George H. W. Bush Henry L. Garrett III
Sean O'Keefe
26 Richard Danzig, official Navy photo.jpg Richard J. Danzig November 29, 1993May 30, 1997 Bill Clinton John Howard Dalton
27 Jerry MacArthur Hultin.jpg Jerry MacArthur Hultin November 13, 1997July 14, 2000John Howard Dalton
Richard Danzig
28 Robert Pirie, official photo portrait, circa 2001.jpg Robert B. Pirie Jr. October 12, 2000June 6, 2001Richard Danzig
29 Susan Livingstonecrop.jpg Susan M. Livingstone July 26, 2001February 28, 2003 George W. Bush Gordon R. England
30 AvilesDionel.jpg Dionel M. Aviles October 8, 2004May 19, 2009 [3] Gordon R. England
Donald C. Winter
31 Robert O Work.jpg Robert O. Work May 19, 2009March 22, 2013 Barack Obama Ray Mabus
No image.svg Robert C. Martinage (acting)March 22, 2013 [4] January 15, 2014 [5]
Thomas W. Hicks.jpg Thomas W. Hicks (acting)January 15, 2014March 17, 2016
32 Janine A. Davidson (3).jpg Janine A. Davidson March 17, 2016January 20, 2017
Thomas W. Hicks.jpg Thomas W. Hicks (acting)January 20, 2017 [6] February 17, 2017 Donald Trump Sean Stackley (acting)
Thomas P. Dee official photo (cropped).jpg Thomas P. Dee (acting)February 17, 2017 [7] December 4, 2017 Richard V. Spencer
33 Thomas B. Modly (cropped).jpg Thomas B. Modly December 4, 2017April 7, 2020 [8] [9]
Serving as Acting Secretary of the Navy: November 24, 2019 – April 7, 2020
Greg Slavonic official photo 2 (cropped).jpg Gregory J. Slavonic (acting)April 24, 2020January 20, 2021 James E. McPherson (acting)
Kenneth J. Braithwaite
James F. Geurts (2) (cropped).jpg James F. Geurts (acting)February 4, 2021August 24, 2021 Joe Biden Thomas Harker (acting)
Meredith Berger Navy Photo.jpg Meredith A. Berger
(Performing the Duties of)
August 25, 2021April 13, 2022 Carlos Del Toro
34 Erik K. Raven, Navy Under Secretary.jpg Erik Raven April 13, 2022August 2024
Official portrait of Thomas Mancinelli.jpg Thomas Mancinelli (acting)August 20, 2024 [10] January 20, 2025
Victor B. Minella.jpg Victor Minella (acting)January 22, 2025April 16, 2025 Donald Trump Terence G. Emmert (acting)
John Phelan
Brett A. Seidle.jpg Brett A. Seidle (acting)April 16, 2025Incumbent John Phelan

References

  1. 5 U.S.C.   § 5315
  2. "Official U.S. Navy web page". Archived from the original on July 24, 2006. Retrieved 2008-10-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link).
  3. "Undersecretary of Navy resigns to take new job". Stars and Stripes.
  4. "Navy says farewell to Under Secretary". 27 March 2013.
  5. "Acting Under Secretary of the Navy Martinage Resigns". 15 January 2014.
  6. "Acting SECNAV, Other Navy Leaders Announced Following Presidential Inauguration". America's Navy. 20 January 2017. Archived from the original on 22 January 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  7. "Navy.mil Leadership Biographies". America's Navy. Archived from the original on 22 June 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  8. "United States Navy biographies". United States Department of the Navy. November 25, 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  9. "United States Navy biography (Under Secretary of the Navy)". United States Department of the Navy. November 25, 2019. Archived from the original on November 25, 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  10. "Thomas J. Mancinelli".