Secretary of Defense William Perry presided today at an 11:15 a.m. ceremony
where John White was sworn in as deputy secretary of Defense, following
yesterday evening's Senate confirmation by unanimous consent. Deputy Secretary
White was sworn by Director of Administration and Management David O. Cooke.
Deputy Secretary White most recently served as the chairman of the Commission
on Roles and Missions of the Armed Forces, a Congressionally mandated study
charged with providing an independent review of the roles and missions of the
armed forces to Congress, the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff. He also was the director of the Center for Business and
Government at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. From
1988 to 1992 he was general manager of the Integration and Systems Products
Division and vice president of the Eastman Kodak Company. He was CEO and
chairman of the board of Interactive Systems Corp. from 1981 until it was sold
to Eastman Kodak in 1988.
Deputy Secretary White served as deputy director of the Office of
Management and Budget from 1978 to 1981, and assistant secretary of Defense
for Manpower, Reserve Affairs and Logistics from 1977 to 1978. Prior to his
government service, he was at the Rand Corporation from 1968 to 1977 where he
was senior vice president for National Security
Research Programs.
Deputy Secretary White holds both an M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from
the Maxwell Graduate School at Syracuse University, and a B.S. in industrial
and labor relations from Cornell University. He has also served as an officer
in the United States Marine Corps.
