Robert Leon Wilkie Jr. (born August 2, 1962) is an American lawyer and government official serving as the United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Prior to becoming the VA Secretary, Wilkie served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness from November 30, 2017 to July 30, 2018. An intelligence officer in the United States Naval Reserve, he was previously nominated for a Department of Defense position by U.S. President George W. Bush on June 20, 2006, and his appointment was approved by the Senate on September 30, 2006.
On March 28, 2018, President Donald Trump announced via Twitter that Wilkie would serve as interim United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs until the Senate confirmed a successor. On May 18, 2018, President Trump announced that he was nominating Wilkie to hold the Veterans Affairs post full time. On July 23, 2018, Wilkie was confirmed by the United States Senate as the next Secretary of Veterans Affairs. He was later sworn in on July 30, 2018.
Video Robert Wilkie
Early life and education
Wilkie was born in Frankfurt, West Germany, and attended Salisbury Cathedral School, England, and Reid Ross High School in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The son of an Army Artillery officer, he grew up in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. His father, Robert Leon Wilkie Sr. (1938-2017), retired from the United States Army as a lieutenant colonel. He is married to Julia Wilkie, who he has known since childhood.
Wilkie Jr. received his B.A. degree from the Wake Forest University in North Carolina. He went on to receive his J.D. degree from Loyola University School of Law in New Orleans in 1988 and an LL.M. degree in International and Comparative Law from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C.
Maps Robert Wilkie
Government career
He began his professional career on Capitol Hill as Counsel to Jesse Helms, and later served as legislative director for Rep. David Funderburk of North Carolina. He was assigned to the Committee on International Relations and the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. In 1997, he began service as counsel and advisor on international security affairs to Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott.
Prior to being named assistant secretary, Wilkie served as special assistant to the President for national security affairs and a senior director of the National Security Council where he was a senior policy advisor to then-National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice as well as her successor, Stephen Hadley. Wilkie developed strategic planning for the implementation of the Moscow Treaty, the Millennium Challenge Account, Iraqi Reconstruction and NATO Expansion. In 2009, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates awarded him the Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal, the highest civilian award of the Department.
While serving as assistant secretary of defense for legislative affairs, Wilkie authored a memo outlining guidelines that restricted congressional testimony to high-ranking officers and civilians appointed by the president. Critics of the guidelines argued that they could impede investigations of the Iraq War, and that the Pentagon had no authority to set the rules.
Wilkie was nominated to be Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness by President Donald Trump on July 25, 2017. This nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate on November 16, 2017. Wilkie previously served as a Senior Advisor to U.S. Senator Thom Tillis.
Secretary Wilkie served in the US Navy Reserve as well as presently in the US Air Force Reserve where he holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
Wilkie was nominated to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs by President Trump on May 18, 2018. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 23, 2018, in a 86-9 vote.
References
External links
- Robert L. Wilkie, White House biography
- Robert L. Wilkie, Department of Defense biography
- Veterans Affairs biography
- DoD News Release "Wilkie Named Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs" United States Department of Defense, October 17, 2006.
- Mike Soraghan, "DoD braces for a fight with Pelosi", The Hill, June 2007.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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