Leon Panetta

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Leon Panetta in 2011 Signature of Leon Panetta

Leon Edward Panetta (born June 28, 1938 in Monterey , California ) is an American politician ( Democratic Party ) and was the 23rd Secretary of Defense of the United States from July 1, 2011 to February 27, 2013 .

Life

Leon Panetta grew up in California and is the son of Carmelina Maria and Carmelo Frank Panetta. The family, who come from Siderno in Calabria , ran a restaurant in Monterey. From 1956 to 1960 he studied political science at the Santa Clara University and completed the study with a Bachelor of Arts degree with a grade magna cum laude from.

From 1964 to 1966 Panetta served as an officer in the military intelligence service of the US Army (United States Army Intelligence and Security Command, INSCOM), which he left as a first lieutenant . Panetta is a Roman Catholic , married and has three children. His youngest son, Jimmy Panetta , was elected to the House of Representatives for the 20th California constituency in 2016.

Political career

Panetta was White House Chief of Staff from January 1994 to April 1997 under US President Bill Clinton , is a former member of the House of Representatives and is the founder and director of the Panetta Institute. He was a member of the Baker Commission , which was set up on March 15, 2006 by the US Congress to develop an independent assessment of the situation in Iraq and recommendations for future strategies and actions. The final report of the Baker Commission was published on December 6, 2006.

In early January 2009, Panetta was surprisingly appointed new director of the CIA by President- elect Barack Obama , although he had no intelligence experience. This was interpreted by experts as a planned new beginning for the secret service. Former CIA employee John O. Brennan , previously considered a candidate for office, was accused of tolerating ill-treatment of terrorist suspects.

Panetta succeeded Defense Secretary Robert Gates on July 1, 2011 , the Senate unanimously approved the nomination on June 22, 2011. General David Petraeus was nominated as Panetta's successor in office as CIA chief . On January 7, 2013, US President Obama nominated Chuck Hagel as Panetta's successor as Secretary of Defense, and Panetta gave up the office on February 27, 2013.

Web links

Commons : Leon Panetta  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ cf. Panetta is to become the CIA chief ( Memento from January 31, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) at tagesschau.de, January 5, 2008 (accessed on January 6, 2008)
  2. ↑ cf. Leon Panetta appointed CIA director at bazonline.ch, January 5, 2008 (accessed January 6, 2008)
  3. ↑ Senate approves Panetta as the new Pentagon boss. In: Spiegel Online. June 22, 2011, accessed on April 15, 2014 : “The US Senate apparently has great confidence in the experienced man. The 100 senators unanimously confirmed the previous CIA chief as the new defense minister on Wednesday. On July 1st, he will replace Robert Gates, who took over the post four and a half years ago under the then President George W. Bush and is now retiring as announced for a long time. "
personal data
SURNAME Panetta, Leon
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Panetta, Leon Edward (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH June 28, 1938
PLACE OF BIRTH Monterey , California