An Evening with Robert M. Gates

On Tuesday, November 14, the Clements Center for National Security, the LBJ Presidential Library and the George and Barbara Bush Foundation hosted Robert M. Gates, former Secretary of Defense and director of the Central Intelligence Agency, for a conversation on foreign policy matters, including the expansion of NATO, war in Ukraine, and China’s increased aggression.

Robert Gates served as the 22nd Secretary of Defense from  2006 to 2011 — the only Secretary of Defense in U.S. history to be asked to remain in office by a newly elected president. A member of the National Security Council staff in four administrations, he served eight presidents of both political parties, and served in the CIA for nearly 27 years. He served as Director of the CIA from 1991 to 1993.

On Gates’s last day in office, President Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor.

Before becoming secretary of defense in 2006, Gates was the President of Texas A&M University. Gates currently is a principal at the consulting firm, Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel, LLC, with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley. Additionally, he is Chancellor of William & Mary, his alma mater. Gates has authored four books, covering his experiences at CIA and at the Pentagon, leadership, and US nonmilitary instruments of power.