Charles Timothy Hagel is an American military veteran and former politician who served as the 24th United States secretary of defense from 2013 to 2015 in the administration of Barack Obama. He previously served as chairman of the president's Intelligence Advisory Board from 2009 to 2013 and as a United States senator representing Nebraska from 1997 to 2009.
Official portrait, 2013
Hagel's portrait as a senator.
Hagel in a 2002 visit with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and Afghan Minister of Women's Affairs Sima Samar
Senator Chuck Hagel arriving at Camp Ramadi, during a 2008 visit to U.S. Service members in Iraq
United States Secretary of Defense
The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high-ranking member of the federal cabinet. The secretary of defense's position of command and authority over the military is second only to that of the president of the United States, who is the commander-in-chief. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a defense minister in many other countries. The secretary of defense is appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate, and is by custom a member of the Cabinet and by law a member of the National Security Council.
United States Secretary of Defense
Donald Rumsfeld is sworn in as Secretary of Defense by Associate Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart as U.S. President Gerald R. Ford and Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff General George S. Brown watch at The Pentagon on November 20, 1975.
Department of Defense organizational chart (December 2013)
Image: James Forrestal Sec Of Def