James D. Watkins

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Admiral James Watkins (1982)

James David Watkins (born March 7, 1927 in Alhambra , California - † July 26, 2012 in Alexandria , Virginia ) was an American naval officer and politician .

biography

Watkins first studied at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis (Maryland) and graduated in 1949 with a Bachelor of Science . He then entered the United States Navy as a professional soldier and later completed a postgraduate degree in mechanical engineering at the Naval Postgraduate School , which he completed in 1958 with a Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Mechanical Engineering .

During his military service he was Chief of Naval Personnel from 1975 to 1978 and subsequently succeeded Vice Admiral Harry D. Train II as Commander of the US Sixth Fleet . He remained in this post until his replacement by Vice Admiral William N. Small in July 1979.

Then in 1979 Watkins was first Deputy Chief of Naval Operations and then from July 31, 1981 Admiral and Commander of the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor . Most recently, Admiral Watkins was from June 30, 1982 to June 30, 1986 Chief of Naval Operations and thus the highest ranking officer and Admiral Chief of Staff in the US Navy. After his retirement he was followed by the previous commander of the Atlantic Fleet , Admiral Carlisle Trost .

On March 1, 1989 Watkins was by US President George Bush to Energy Minister ( Secretary of Energy ) in its cabinet appointed and remained until the end of Bush's term of office on 20 January 1993 in office. As energy minister, he was also responsible for the manufacture of nuclear weapons .

After leaving the government, he went into the private sector and was a board member of VESTAR Inc. and Southern California Edison . Between 1993 and 1998 he was also curator (trustee) of the Carnegie Corporation .

Awards

Selection of decorations, sorted based on the Order of Precedence of the Military Awards:

Web links

Commons : James D. Watkins  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ James D. Watkins, who led Reagan's commission on AIDS in the 1980s, dies at 85
  2. ↑ Commander Sixth Fleet on the homepage of the Naval History and Heritage Command
  3. ↑ Taken to the limit . In: Der Spiegel . No. 22 , 1990, pp. 152-153 ( Online - May 28, 1990 ).
  4. ↑ Nuclear weapons laboratories now peaceful . In: Der Spiegel . No. 47 , 1991, pp. 199 ( Online - Nov. 18, 1991 ).
personal data
SURNAME Watkins, James D.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Watkins, James David
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American admiral, politician and manager
DATE OF BIRTH March 7, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH Alhambra , California
DATE OF DEATH July 26, 2012
Place of death Alexandria , Virginia