Mark Esper
Mark Thomas Esper (born April 26, 1964) is an American politician and manufacturing executive who served as the 27th United States secretary of defense from 2019 to 2020. A member of the Republican Party, he had previously served as the 23rd U.S. secretary of the Army from November 2017 to July 2019.
Mark Esper | |
|---|---|
Official portrait, 2019 | |
| 27th United States Secretary of Defense | |
| In office July 23, 2019 – November 9, 2020 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Deputy | Richard V. Spencer (acting) David Norquist (acting) |
| Preceded by | Jim Mattis |
| Succeeded by | Lloyd Austin |
| Acting June 24, 2019 – July 15, 2019 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Deputy | David Norquist (acting) |
| Preceded by | Patrick M. Shanahan (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Richard V. Spencer (acting) |
| 23rd United States Secretary of the Army | |
| In office November 20, 2017 – July 23, 2019* | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Deputy | Ryan McCarthy |
| Preceded by | Ryan McCarthy (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Ryan McCarthy |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mark Thomas Esper April 26, 1964 Uniontown, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse |
Leah Lacy (m. 1989) |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | George Esper (uncle) |
| Education | United States Military Academy (BS) Harvard University (MPA) George Washington University (PhD) |
| Occupation | Business executive, venture capitalist, politician |
| Civilian awards | Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service (Two awards) |
| Signature | |
| Website | www.marktesper.com |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1986–2007 |
| Rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
| Unit | 101st Airborne Division 82nd Airborne Division Virginia Army National Guard D.C. Army National Guard United States Army Reserve |
| Commands | B/3-325 Airborne Battalion Combat Team, Vicenza Italy |
| Battles/wars | Gulf War |
| Military awards | |
| *McCarthy served in an acting capacity from June 24, 2019 to July 15, 2019, while Esper served as Acting U.S. Secretary of Defense. | |
A West Point graduate, Esper joined the United States Army and saw combat during the Gulf War as an infantry officer with the 101st Airborne Division. Esper subsequently served in the 82nd Airborne Division and the Army National Guard. After leaving military service, he served as chief of staff at the Heritage Foundation; a congressional staffer; a deputy assistant secretary of defense; and a senior executive for the Aerospace Industries Association, the Global Intellectual Property Center, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Immediately before joining the Trump administration, Esper lobbied for defense contractor Raytheon as its vice president of government relations.
In 2017, he joined the Trump administration as the 23rd secretary of the Army. In 2019, Esper was named acting defense secretary; he was confirmed shortly afterwards as the 27th defense secretary by the United States Senate with a vote of 90–8. He was fired by President Donald Trump by tweet on November 9, 2020.