John Francis Lehman Jr. (born September 14, 1942) is an American

private equity investor In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a typ ...

and writer who served as

Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

(1981–1987) in the

Ronald Reagan administration Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following a landslide victory over ...

where he promoted the creation of a

600-ship Navy The 600-ship Navy was a strategic plan of the United States Navy during the 1980s to rebuild its fleet after cutbacks that followed the end of the Vietnam War. The plan, which originated with Republican leaders, was an important campaign plank of ...

. From 2003 to 2004 he was a member of the 9/11 Commission. Lehman serves on the board of trustees for the think tank

Foreign Policy Research Institute The Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI) is an American think tank based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that conducts research on geopolitics, international relations, and international security in the various regions of the world as well as ...

(FPRI). Lehman was also a member of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, commonly called the 9/11 Commission, and has signed some policy letters produced by the

Project for the New American Century The Project for the New American Century (PNAC) was a neoconservativeJohn McCain for the 2008 presidential race, and for Mitt Romney in his 2012 bid.

Education and family

Lehman was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, the son of Constance (Cruice) and John Francis Lehman, an industrial engineer and decorated

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

veteran (

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...

). He graduated from

La Salle College High School , motto_translation = Character and Knowledge , location = 8605 Cheltenham Avenue , city = Wyndmoor , county = ( Montgomery County) , state = Pennsylvania , zipcode ...

and received a B.S. in

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such a ...

from Saint Joseph's University in 1964, gained a B.A. from

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of t ...

(later

elevated An elevated railway or elevated train (also known as an el train for short) is a rapid transit railway with the tracks above street level on a viaduct or other elevated structure (usually constructed from steel, cast iron, concrete, or bricks ...

to an M.A.) and went on to earn an M.A. and Ph.D. from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

. He is a first cousin, once removed, of the late

Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956. Kelly ...

(

Princess Grace of Monaco Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956. Kelly ...

), and is Chairman of the

Princess Grace Foundation-USA The Princess Grace Foundation – USA is a charity organization named after Princess Grace of Monaco, which supports emerging performers in theater, dance, and film in the form of awards, grants, scholarships, and fellowships. The Foundation ho ...

, a public charity established after Princess Grace's death to support emerging artists in film, dance, and theater. He led the American delegation to the funeral of

Prince Rainier Rainier III (Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi; 31 May 1923 – 6 April 2005) was Prince of Monaco from 1949 to his death in 2005. Rainier ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years, making him one of the longest-ruling m ...

. He and his family live in

Bucks County, Pennsylvania Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the English ...

, and Manhattan. He is a long time Republican.

Military career

Lehman served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve for three years while at Cambridge, then in 1968 left the Air Force Reserve and joined the

United States Naval Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Se ...

as an

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

, later rising to the rank of commander as a

Naval Flight Officer A naval flight officer (NFO) is a commissioned officer in the United States Navy or United States Marine Corps who specializes in airborne weapons and sensor systems. NFOs are not pilots (naval aviators), but they may perform many "co-pilot" or ...

, serving in the

A-6 Intruder The Grumman A-6 Intruder is an American twinjet all-weather attack aircraft developed and manufactured by American aircraft company Grumman Aerospace and operated by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. It was designed in response to a 1957 r ...

as a bombardier/navigator. He served on the staff of the National Security Council under

Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...

. In 1977 Lehman founded the Abington Corporation, a consulting company with clients including defense companies such as

Northrop Corporation Northrop Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer from its formation in 1939 until its 1994 merger with Grumman to form Northrop Grumman. The company is known for its development of the flying wing design, most successfully the B-2 Sp ...

. He remained its president and director until 1981, when he was appointed by Ronald Reagan to be Secretary of the Navy.

Secretary of the Navy (1981–1987)

As the 65th secretary, appointed by Ronald Reagan in 1981, Lehman launched the idea of building a "

". He became Secretary of the Navy at 38, a young age that he was conscious of in his dealing with admirals. He was unique in still serving as a commander in the Naval Reserve and on active flight status while being Secretary of the Navy. He developed a strategic concept to counter the threat of Soviet incursion into Western Europe known as the "Lehman Doctrine." The plan called for a military response to any Russian invasion in Europe by attacking and invading the Soviet Far East along the Pacific, a much less defended front. Forces would sever the trans Siberian railroad and fight westward toward Moscow. Lehman, a naval aviator, was a massive supporter of carrier power. His works as a lobbyist and author in the 1970s led him naturally to support a resurgence of US Naval aviation under Reagan. His support for the 600 ship navy and promotion of the US Maritime Strategy are hallmarks of this. As are his reactivation of the Iowa Class battleships. Both the carriers and the battleships were to announce America's overcoming of recent Soviet potential superiority by taking a war to their doorstep. According to Hedrick Smith, in his book ''The Power Game'', Lehman lost a fight at the Pentagon with

Deputy Secretary of Defense The deputy secretary of defense (acronym: DepSecDef) is a statutory office () and the second-highest-ranking official in the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The deputy secretary is the principal civilian deputy to the sec ...

W. Paul Thayer over lowering the number of future aircraft carriers planned. He immediately went to the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

where they were unaware of Thayer's decision, and obtained a press release declaring President Reagan had named two of the ships and , thereby implying that Reagan had endorsed the "600-ship fleet." Lehman was instrumental in the forced retirement of Admiral Hyman G. Rickover. Lehman sided with General Dynamics after they falsified inspection records to hide welding flaws on submarines and pushed a settlement that paid them over 600 million dollars for what Rickover called shoddy work. Lehman engaged in a sexual act with a stripper in front of 50-100 spectators in a hospitality suite at Tailhook in 1986, and had been seen cavorting with strippers at earlier Tailhook conventions. Lehman resigned in 1987. He was subsequently promoted to the rank of captain in the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1989, later retiring from the U.S. Navy as a reserve officer in that rank after 30 years of service. On October 13, 2020, the U.S. Navy announced it was naming the next Arleigh Burke class (DDG-137) destroyer after former secretary of the Navy, John F. Lehman. The USS ''John F. Lehman'' is under construction.

Later career

Lehman is a former investment banker with

UBS AG UBS Group AG is a multinational investment bank and financial services company founded and based in Switzerland. Co-headquartered in the cities of Zürich and Basel, it maintains a presence in all major financial centres as the largest Swis ...

Paine Webber PaineWebber & Co. was an American investment bank and stock brokerage firm that was acquired by the Swiss bank UBS in 2000. The company was founded in 1880 in Boston, Massachusetts, by William Alfred Paine and Wallace G. Webber. Operating with t ...

, and president of Abington Corporation. , Lehman is chairman of the private

equity investment A stock trader or equity trader or share trader, also called a stock investor, is a person or company involved in trading equity securities and attempting to profit from the purchase and sale of those securities. Stock traders may be an invest ...

firm J. F. Lehman and Company, as well as chairman of the Hawaii Superferry. Lehman is chairman of the board of OAO Technology Solutions Inc. He is also an honorary member of the

First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry The First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry, also known as the First City Troop, is a unit of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. It is one of the oldest military units in the United States still in active service and is among the most decora ...

. , he is a member of a number of influential conservative American

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

s, including the

Project for the New American Century The Project for the New American Century (PNAC) was a neoconservativeThe Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation (abbreviated to Heritage) is an American conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. that is primarily geared toward public policy. The foundation took a leading role in the conservative movement during the presiden ...

, the

, the Center for Security Policy, and the Committee on the Present Danger. After his work in the 9/11 Commission in 2002, there was increased speculation that Lehman might be named to a chief security post within the Bush Administration. Positions suggested included Director of Central Intelligence, Director of National Intelligence and Secretary of Defense when Donald Rumsfeld stepped down. During the 2008 presidential election, Lehman was named a possible Secretary of Defense pick in the case of a McCain victory over Democratic nominee Barack Obama. He currently serves as Chairman of the

and as a director of the OpSail Foundation. He is also a member of the board of overseers of the School of Engineering at the

, and is a trustee of

La Salle College High School , motto_translation = Character and Knowledge , location = 8605 Cheltenham Avenue , city = Wyndmoor , county = ( Montgomery County) , state = Pennsylvania , zipcode ...

. He has served on the board of directors of the

Ball Corporation Ball Corporation is an American company headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado. It is best known for its early production of glass jars, lids, and related products used for home canning. Since its founding in Buffalo, New York, in 1880, when it w ...

since 1987. Lehman is also an advisory board member for the

Partnership for a Secure America Partnership for a Secure America (PSA) is a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C. that seeks to promote bipartisan solutions to today's critical national security and foreign policy issues. Created by former Congressman Lee H. Hamilton and f ...

, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to recreating the bipartisan center in American national security and foreign policy. On June 26, 2012, Lehman revealed to the staff of the

United States Naval Institute The United States Naval Institute (USNI) is a private non-profit military association that offers independent, nonpartisan forums for debate of national security issues. In addition to publishing magazines and books, the Naval Institute holds se ...

and in a speech given in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, UK, the Reagan Administration secretly offered the use of the amphibious assault helicopter carrier as a replacement in case either of the two British carriers, the and the , had been damaged or destroyed during the 1982 Falklands War. This revelation made headlines in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, but except for the U.S. Naval Institute, not in the United States.

Bibliography

Books

* ''On Seas of Glory: Heroic Men, Great Ships, and Epic Battles of the American Navy'' (2002) ** Winner of the 2003 Samuel Eliot Morison Award for Naval Literature * ''Making War: The 200-Year-Old Battle Between the President and Congress Over How America Goes to War'' (Naval Institute Press, 2001) * ''America the Vulnerable: Our Military Problems and How to Fix Them'' (1992) * * "The Executive, Congress, and Foreign Policy: Studies of the Nixon Administration" (New York: Praeger, 1974). * ''Command of the Seas: Building the 600 Ship Navy'' (Naval Institute Press, 2001) ** Winner of the 1989 Samuel Eliot Morison Award for Naval Literature

Critical studies and reviews of Lehman's work

;Oceans ventured *

References

External links

Short Biography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lehman, John Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge American investment bankers American military writers Living people Military personnel from Philadelphia People from Bucks County, Pennsylvania Politicians from Philadelphia Reagan administration personnel Saint Joseph's University alumni The Heritage Foundation United States Air Force officers United States Navy officers United States Secretaries of the Navy University of Pennsylvania alumni Foreign Policy Research Institute 1942 births