Ashton Carter
Encyclopedia
Ashton Baldwin Carter is a United States
national security professional. He is is the United States Deputy Secretary of Defense
. Prior to that, He served as Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics
(AT&L) for President Barack Obama
. He is currently on leave from his post as Co-Director (with former Secretary of Defense William J. Perry
) of the Preventive Defense Project, a research collaboration of Harvard
and Stanford
Universities. He is also on leave from the International Relations, Security, and Science faculty at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government
. He is a member of the guiding coalition of the Project on National Security Reform
. On August 2, 2011, President Obama nominated Carter to be the new Deputy Secretary of Defense, and on September 23, 2011 the United States Senate
confirmed him by unanimous consent
. He assumed his office as Deputy Secretary of Defense on October 6, 2011.
Carter served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy in the Clinton Administration from 1993 to 1996. He was nominated to his current post on March 18, 2009. Dr Carter served as a member of the Defense Science Board from 1991–1993 and 1997–2001, the Defense Policy Board from 1997–2001, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s International Security Advisory Board from 2006-2008. In 1997, Dr. Carter co-chaired the Catastrophic Terrorism Study Group with former CIA Director John M. Deutch, which urged greater attention to terrorism. From 1998 to 2000, he was deputy to William J. Perry in the North Korea Policy Review and traveled with him to Pyongyang. In 2001-2002, he served on the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Science and Technology for Countering Terrorism and advised on the creation of the Department of Homeland Security.
, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa. He received his doctorate in theoretical physics from Oxford University
, where he was a Rhodes Scholar
.
In 1972, Carter graduated from Abington High School in Abington, PA where he had been President of the Honor Society.
’s first term.
His Pentagon
responsibilities encompassed: countering weapons of mass destruction worldwide, oversight of the U.S. nuclear arsenal and missile defense programs, policy regarding the collapse of the former Soviet Union
(including its nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction), control over sensitive U.S. exports, and chairmanship of NATO’s High Level Group. Carter directed military planning during the 1994 crisis over North Korea
's nuclear weapons program; was instrumental in removing all nuclear weapon
s from the territories of Ukraine
, Kazakhstan
, and Belarus
; directed the establishment of defense and intelligence relationships with the countries of the former Soviet Union when the Cold War
ended; and participated in the negotiations that led to the deployment of Russia
n troops as part of the Bosnia Peace Plan Implementation Force. Carter managed the multi-billion dollar Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program to support elimination of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons of the former Soviet Union, including the secret removal of 600 kilograms of highly enriched uranium from Kazakhstan in the operation code-named Project Sapphire
. He also directed the Nuclear Posture Review and oversaw the Department of Defense’s (DOD's) Counterproliferation Initiative. He directed the reform of DOD’s national security export controls. His arms control responsibilities included the agreement freezing North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, the extension of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty
, the negotiation of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and matters involving the START II
, ABM
, CFE, and other arms control treaties.
and the Defense Policy Board
, the principal advisory bodies to the Secretary of Defense. During the Bush administration, he was also a member of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
’s International Security Advisory Board, co-chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Policy Advisory Group, a consultant to the Defense Science Board, a member of the National Missile Defense White Team, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on International Security and Arms Control. In 1997 Dr. Carter co-chaired the Catastrophic Terrorism Study Group with former CIA Director John M. Deutch
, which urged greater attention to terrorism. From 1998 to 2000, he was deputy to William J. Perry
in the North Korea Policy Review and traveled with him to Pyongyang. In 2001-2002, he served on the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Science and Technology for Countering Terrorism and advised on the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. He has testified frequently before the armed services, foreign relations, and homeland security committees of both houses of Congress.
In addition to his public service, Carter was a Senior Partner at Global Technology Partners and a member of the Board of Trustees of the MITRE Corporation, and the Advisory Boards of MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory
and the Draper Laboratory
. He has been a consultant to Goldman Sachs
and Mitretek Systems on international affairs and technology matters, and speaks frequently to business and policy audiences. Carter was also a member of the Aspen Strategy Group
, the Council on Foreign Relations, the American Physical Society, the International Institute for Strategic Studies
, and the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. Carter was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
.
Carter’s research focuses on the Preventive Defense Project, which designs and promotes security policies aimed at preventing the emergence of major new threats to the United States.
From 1990-1993, Carter was Director of the Center for Science and International Affairs
at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government
, and Chairman of the Editorial Board of International Security
. Previously, he held positions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment
, and Rockefeller University
.
, the highest award given by the Department. For his contributions to intelligence, he was awarded the Defense Intelligence Medal. In 1987 Carter was named one of Ten Outstanding Young Americans by the United States Jaycees. He received the American Physical Society
's Forum Award for his contributions to physics and public policy. In November of 2011, Carter was included on The New Republic's list of Washington's most powerful, least famous people.
Directed Energy Missile Defense in Space (1984)
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
national security professional. He is is the United States Deputy Secretary of Defense
United States Deputy Secretary of Defense
The Deputy Secretary of Defense is the second-highest ranking official in the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The Deputy Secretary of Defense is appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate...
. Prior to that, He served as Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics
Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics
The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics - USD - is a senior official in the Office of the Secretary of Defense within the Department of Defense of the United States of America...
(AT&L) for President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
. He is currently on leave from his post as Co-Director (with former Secretary of Defense William J. Perry
William Perry
William James Perry is an American businessman and engineer who was the United States Secretary of Defense from February 3, 1994, to January 23, 1997, under President Bill Clinton...
) of the Preventive Defense Project, a research collaboration of Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and Stanford
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
Universities. He is also on leave from the International Relations, Security, and Science faculty at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government
John F. Kennedy School of Government
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is a public policy and public administration school, and one of Harvard's graduate and professional schools...
. He is a member of the guiding coalition of the Project on National Security Reform
Project on National Security Reform
The Project on National Security Reform is a nonpartisan non-profit organization mandated by the United States Congress to recommend improvements to the U.S. national security system. Advocates of reform of the U.S...
. On August 2, 2011, President Obama nominated Carter to be the new Deputy Secretary of Defense, and on September 23, 2011 the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
confirmed him by unanimous consent
Unanimous consent
In parliamentary procedure, unanimous consent, also known as general consent, or in the case of the parliaments under the Westminster system, leave of the house, is a situation in which no one present objects to a proposal. The chair may state, for instance: "If there is no objection, the motion...
. He assumed his office as Deputy Secretary of Defense on October 6, 2011.
Carter served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy in the Clinton Administration from 1993 to 1996. He was nominated to his current post on March 18, 2009. Dr Carter served as a member of the Defense Science Board from 1991–1993 and 1997–2001, the Defense Policy Board from 1997–2001, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s International Security Advisory Board from 2006-2008. In 1997, Dr. Carter co-chaired the Catastrophic Terrorism Study Group with former CIA Director John M. Deutch, which urged greater attention to terrorism. From 1998 to 2000, he was deputy to William J. Perry in the North Korea Policy Review and traveled with him to Pyongyang. In 2001-2002, he served on the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Science and Technology for Countering Terrorism and advised on the creation of the Department of Homeland Security.
Education
Carter received bachelor's degrees in physics and in medieval history from Yale UniversityYale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa. He received his doctorate in theoretical physics from Oxford University
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, where he was a Rhodes Scholar
Rhodes Scholarship
The Rhodes Scholarship, named after Cecil Rhodes, is an international postgraduate award for study at the University of Oxford. It was the first large-scale programme of international scholarships, and is widely considered the "world's most prestigious scholarship" by many public sources such as...
.
In 1972, Carter graduated from Abington High School in Abington, PA where he had been President of the Honor Society.
Department of Defense career
Carter served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy during President ClintonBill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
’s first term.
His Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
responsibilities encompassed: countering weapons of mass destruction worldwide, oversight of the U.S. nuclear arsenal and missile defense programs, policy regarding the collapse of the former Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
(including its nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction), control over sensitive U.S. exports, and chairmanship of NATO’s High Level Group. Carter directed military planning during the 1994 crisis over North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
's nuclear weapons program; was instrumental in removing all nuclear weapon
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
s from the territories of Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, and Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
; directed the establishment of defense and intelligence relationships with the countries of the former Soviet Union when the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
ended; and participated in the negotiations that led to the deployment of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n troops as part of the Bosnia Peace Plan Implementation Force. Carter managed the multi-billion dollar Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program to support elimination of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons of the former Soviet Union, including the secret removal of 600 kilograms of highly enriched uranium from Kazakhstan in the operation code-named Project Sapphire
Project Sapphire
Project Sapphire was a successful 1994 covert operation of the United States government to remove 1,278 pounds of weapons-grade enriched uranium for Alfa class submarines from a warehouse at the Ulba Metallurgical Plant outside Ust-Kamenogorsk in the former Soviet republic of far eastern...
. He also directed the Nuclear Posture Review and oversaw the Department of Defense’s (DOD's) Counterproliferation Initiative. He directed the reform of DOD’s national security export controls. His arms control responsibilities included the agreement freezing North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, the extension of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to...
, the negotiation of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and matters involving the START II
START II
START II was a bilateral treaty between the United States of America and Russia on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms. It was signed by United States President George H. W...
, ABM
Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty
The Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty was a treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union on the limitation of the anti-ballistic missile systems used in defending areas against missile-delivered nuclear weapons....
, CFE, and other arms control treaties.
Other roles
Carter had been a longtime member of the Defense Science BoardDefense Science Board
The Defense Science Board is a committee of civilian experts appointed to advise the U.S. Department of Defense on scientific and technical matters...
and the Defense Policy Board
Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee
The Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee, also referred to as the Defense Policy Board is a federal advisory committee to the United States Department of Defense. Their charter is available online through the office of the Director of Administration and Management of the Department of Defense...
, the principal advisory bodies to the Secretary of Defense. During the Bush administration, he was also a member of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice is an American political scientist and diplomat. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and was the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush...
’s International Security Advisory Board, co-chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Policy Advisory Group, a consultant to the Defense Science Board, a member of the National Missile Defense White Team, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on International Security and Arms Control. In 1997 Dr. Carter co-chaired the Catastrophic Terrorism Study Group with former CIA Director John M. Deutch
John M. Deutch
John Mark Deutch is an American chemist and civil servant. He was the United States Deputy Secretary of Defense from 1994 to 1995 and Director of Central Intelligence from May 10, 1995 until December 15, 1996...
, which urged greater attention to terrorism. From 1998 to 2000, he was deputy to William J. Perry
William Perry
William James Perry is an American businessman and engineer who was the United States Secretary of Defense from February 3, 1994, to January 23, 1997, under President Bill Clinton...
in the North Korea Policy Review and traveled with him to Pyongyang. In 2001-2002, he served on the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Science and Technology for Countering Terrorism and advised on the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. He has testified frequently before the armed services, foreign relations, and homeland security committees of both houses of Congress.
In addition to his public service, Carter was a Senior Partner at Global Technology Partners and a member of the Board of Trustees of the MITRE Corporation, and the Advisory Boards of MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory
Lincoln Laboratory
MIT Lincoln Laboratory, located in Lexington, Massachusetts, is a United States Department of Defense research and development center chartered to apply advanced technology to problems of national security. Research and development activities focus on long-term technology development as well as...
and the Draper Laboratory
Charles Stark Draper Laboratory
Draper Laboratory is an American not-for-profit research and development organization in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Draper focuses on the design, development, and deployment of advanced technology solutions to problems in national security, space exploration, health care and energy.Originally...
. He has been a consultant to Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
and Mitretek Systems on international affairs and technology matters, and speaks frequently to business and policy audiences. Carter was also a member of the Aspen Strategy Group
Aspen Strategy Group
The Aspen Strategy Group , founded in 1984, is a program of the Aspen Institute. It is a bipartisan forum composed of current and former politicians, civil servants, academics, journalists and business leaders who discuss issues of key importance in the realms of foreign policy, strategy and...
, the Council on Foreign Relations, the American Physical Society, the International Institute for Strategic Studies
International Institute for Strategic Studies
The International Institute for Strategic Studies is a British research institute in the area of international affairs. It describes itself as "the world’s leading authority on political-military conflict"...
, and the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. Carter was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
.
Carter’s research focuses on the Preventive Defense Project, which designs and promotes security policies aimed at preventing the emergence of major new threats to the United States.
From 1990-1993, Carter was Director of the Center for Science and International Affairs
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs is a permanent research center located within the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. The center's current director is political scientist Graham T. Allison....
at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government
John F. Kennedy School of Government
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is a public policy and public administration school, and one of Harvard's graduate and professional schools...
, and Chairman of the Editorial Board of International Security
International Security
International Security is a peer-reviewed academic journal in the field of international and national security. It was founded in 1976 and is edited by the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University and published four times a year by MIT Press, both of Cambridge,...
. Previously, he held positions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment
Office of Technology Assessment
The Office of Technology Assessment was an office of the United States Congress from 1972 to 1995. OTA's purpose was to provide Congressional members and committees with objective and authoritative analysis of the complex scientific and technical issues of the late 20th century, i.e. technology...
, and Rockefeller University
Rockefeller University
The Rockefeller University is a private university offering postgraduate and postdoctoral education. It has a strong concentration in the biological sciences. It is also known for producing numerous Nobel laureates...
.
Recognition
Carter was twice awarded the Department of Defense Distinguished Service MedalDistinguished Service Medal (United States)
The Distinguished Service Medal is the highest non-valorous military and civilian decoration of the United States military which is issued for exceptionally meritorious service to the government of the United States in either a senior government service position or as a senior officer of the United...
, the highest award given by the Department. For his contributions to intelligence, he was awarded the Defense Intelligence Medal. In 1987 Carter was named one of Ten Outstanding Young Americans by the United States Jaycees. He received the American Physical Society
American Physical Society
The American Physical Society is the world's second largest organization of physicists, behind the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. The Society publishes more than a dozen scientific journals, including the world renowned Physical Review and Physical Review Letters, and organizes more than 20...
's Forum Award for his contributions to physics and public policy. In November of 2011, Carter was included on The New Republic's list of Washington's most powerful, least famous people.
Works
In addition to authoring numerous articles, scientific publications, government studies, and Congressional testimonies, Carter co-edited and co-authored eleven books, including:Directed Energy Missile Defense in Space (1984)
- Ballistic Missile Defense (1984)
- Managing Nuclear Operations (1987)
- Soviet Nuclear Fission: Control of the Nuclear Arsenal in a Disintegrating Soviet Union (1991)
- Beyond Spinoff: Military and Commercial Technologies in a Changing World (1992)
- A New Concept of Cooperative Security (1992)
- Cooperative Denuclearization: From Pledges to Deeds (1993)
- Preventive Defense: A New Security Strategy for America (1997)
- Keeping the Edge: Managing Defense for the Future (2001)
External links
- Preventive Defense Project website
- Dr. Ashton B. Carter bio
- (http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/pages/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1762:ash-carter-nominated-to-be-depsecdef&catid=75:news&Itemid=68]