Rupert "Rudy" Frank de Leon Jr. (born August 28, 1952) is an American former senior

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

official, military adviser,

lobbyist In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...

, and foreign policy adviser. He served as the

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 ...

, described as the "second-highest civilian defense position", from March 31, 2000 until March 16, 2001, and before appointed as Deputy Secretary he had served as

Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness The under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, or USD (P&R) is a high-ranking civilian position in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) within the United States Department of Defense responsible for advising the secretary an ...

from 1997 until 2000 and as

Under Secretary of the Air Force The Under Secretary of the Air Force (USECAF, or SAF/US), sometimes referred to as the Under Secretary of the Department of the Air Force, is the second-highest ranking civilian official in the United States Department of the Air Force, Departmen ...

from 1994 to 1997 in the administration of

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

. Since 2007, he has served as Senior Vice President of National Security and International Policy at the

Center for American Progress The Center for American Progress (CAP) is a public policy research and advocacy organization which presents a liberal viewpoint on economic and social issues. It has its headquarters in Washington, D.C. The president and chief executive offic ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

.Rudy de Leon-Center for American Progress
/ref>

Education

Born in Pasadena, California, De Leon studied at

El Camino College El Camino College (Elco or ECC) is a two-year public community college located in the unincorporated area of Los Angeles County known as Alondra Park.Loyola Marymount University Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. It is located on the west side of the city near Playa Vista. LMU is the parent school to Loyola Law School, which is located ...

, earning a B.A. degree in history in 1974. He continued his education at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

in 1977. De Leon later completed the executive program in national and international security affairs at the

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1984.

Government career

De Leon began his career in the federal government in 1975, and held various positions for 25 years until 2001. He had staff positions in the Senate and

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

. From 1985 through 1993, he served on the Committee on Armed Services as a member of the professional staff and director. In 1986, he participated in the debate and passage of the 1986 Goldwater-Nichols Act, which made fundamental changes in military organization and operations. He was a top aide to

Les Aspin Leslie Aspin Jr. (July 21, 1938 – May 21, 1995) was an American Democratic Party politician who served as the U.S. representative for Wisconsin's 1st congressional district from 1971 to 1993 and as the 18th United States Secretary of Defe ...

in 1993. He was nominated by then-president

, and confirmed by the Senate, for the positions of undersecretary of the Air Force from 1994 to 1997, and undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness from 1997 to 2000. He worked with civilian Pentagon officials on matters such as ending discrimination within the military, decisions about awarding Medals of Honor to military service personnel, as well as preventing

biological terrorism Bioterrorism is terrorism involving the intentional release or dissemination of biological agents. These agents are bacteria, viruses, insects, fungi, and/or toxins, and may be in a naturally occurring or a human-modified form, in much the same ...

by inoculations against anthrax. As Deputy Defense Secretary, he had authority over matters such as decisions by the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

regarding military spy planes. According to a website from the Center for American Progress, he received the Defense Civilian Distinguished Service Award in 1994, 1995, and 2001, and received the

National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal The National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal (NIDSM) is a decoration awarded for service to the United States Intelligence Community. The decoration is awarded to any member or contributor to the National Intelligence Community, either ...

in 2001, and was recognized by the National League of POW-MIA Families in 1999 and by the National Military Families Association in 2000.

Lobbying

De Leon worked for the

Boeing Company The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...

as a senior vice president from 2001 to 2006, managing the Washington office.

Other activities

De Leon has served as a college lecturer as well as foreign policy expert for the Center for American Progress. He has written numerous articles on matters of foreign policy and military policy.

References

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:De Leon, Rudy F. 1952 births Living people People from Pasadena, California Loyola Marymount University alumni United States congressional aides Harvard Kennedy School alumni Clinton administration personnel United States Deputy Secretaries of Defense Boeing people Center for American Progress people