United States Under Secretary of the Navy


The under secretary of the navy is the second-highest ranking civilian official in the United States Department of the Navy. The under secretary reports to the [United States United States Secretary of the Navy|Secretary of the Navy|secretary of the navy]. Before the creation of the under secretary's office, the second-highest civilian at the Department of the Navy was the assistant secretary of the navy.
WWW navy.mil/navydata/bios/na...

List of under secretaries of the navy, 1940–present

The following men and women have held the post:
No.PortraitNameAssumed officeLeft officePresident appointed bySecretary served under
1James V. ForrestalAugust 22, 1940May 16, 1944Franklin D. RooseveltFrank Knox
2Ralph A. BardJune 24, 1944June 30, 1945Franklin D. RooseveltJames Forrestal
3Artemus GatesJuly 3, 1945December 31, 1945Harry S. TrumanJames Forrestal
4John L. SullivanJune 17, 1946September 18, 1947Harry S. TrumanJames Forrestal
5W. John KenneySeptember 19, 1947September 24, 1949Harry S. TrumanJohn L. Sullivan
6Dan A. KimballMay 25, 1949July 31, 1951Harry S. TrumanFrancis P. Matthews
7Francis P. WhitehairAugust 7, 1951January 29, 1953Harry S. TrumanDan A. Kimball
8Charles S. ThomasFebruary 9, 1953August 5, 1953Dwight D. EisenhowerRobert B. Anderson
9Thomas S. Gates Jr.October 7, 1953April 1, 1957Dwight D. EisenhowerRobert B. Anderson
Charles Thomas
10William B. FrankeApril 17, 1957June 7, 1959Dwight D. EisenhowerThomas S. Gates Jr.
11Fred A. BantzJune 8, 1959January 20, 1961Dwight D. EisenhowerWilliam B. Franke
12Paul B. FayFebruary 16, 1961January 15, 1965John F. KennedyJohn Connally
Fred Korth
Paul Nitze
13Kenneth E. BeLieuFebruary 26, 1965July 1, 1965Lyndon B. JohnsonPaul Nitze
14Robert H. B. BaldwinJuly 2, 1965July 31, 1967Lyndon B. JohnsonPaul Nitze
15Charles F. BairdAugust 1, 1967January 20, 1969Lyndon B. JohnsonPaul Robert Ignatius
16John WarnerFebruary 11, 1969May 4, 1972Richard NixonJohn Chafee
17Frank P. SandersMay 5, 1972June 29, 1973Richard NixonJohn Warner
18J. William MiddendorfAugust 3, 1973June 20, 1974Richard NixonJohn Warner
19David S. PotterAugust 28, 1974April 1, 1976Gerald FordJ. William Middendorf
20David R. MacdonaldSeptember 14, 1976February 4, 1977Gerald FordJ. William Middendorf
21R. James Woolsey Jr.March 9, 1977December 7, 1979Jimmy CarterW. Graham Claytor Jr.
22Robert J. MurrayFebruary 7, 1980September 29, 1981Jimmy CarterEdward Hidalgo
John Lehman
23James F. GoodrichSeptember 29, 1981August 6, 1987Ronald ReaganJohn Lehman
24Henry L. Garrett IIIAugust 6, 1987May 15, 1989Ronald ReaganJim Webb
William L. Ball
25J. Daniel HowardAugust 7, 1989January 20, 1993George H. W. BushHenry L. Garrett III
Sean O'Keefe
26Richard J. DanzigNovember 29, 1993May 30, 1997Bill ClintonJohn Howard Dalton
27Jerry MacArthur HultinNovember 13, 1997July 14, 2000Bill ClintonJohn Howard Dalton
Richard Danzig
28Robert B. Pirie Jr.October 12, 2000June 6, 2001Bill ClintonRichard Danzig
29Susan M. LivingstoneJuly 26, 2001February 28, 2003George W. BushGordon R. England
30Dionel M. AvilesOctober 8, 2004May 19, 2009George W. BushGordon R. England
Donald C. Winter
31Robert O. WorkMay 19, 2009March 22, 2013Barack ObamaRay Mabus
–Robert C. Martinage March 22, 2013January 15, 2014Barack ObamaRay Mabus
–Thomas W. Hicks January 15, 2014March 17, 2016Barack ObamaRay Mabus
32Janine A. DavidsonMarch 17, 2016January 20, 2017Barack ObamaRay Mabus
–Thomas W. Hicks January 20, 2017February 17, 2017Donald TrumpSean Stackley
–Thomas P. Dee February 17, 2017December 4, 2017Donald TrumpRichard V. Spencer
33Thomas B. ModlyDecember 4, 2017April 7, 2020
Serving as Acting Secretary of the Navy: November 24, 2019 – April 7, 2020		Donald TrumpRichard V. Spencer
–Gregory J. Slavonic April 24, 2020January 20, 2021Donald Trump
Kenneth J. Braithwaite
–James F. Geurts February 4, 2021August 24, 2021Joe BidenThomas Harker
–Meredith A. Berger
August 25, 2021April 13, 2022Joe BidenCarlos Del Toro
34Erik RavenApril 13, 2022August 2024Joe BidenCarlos Del Toro
–Thomas Mancinelli August 20, 2024January 20, 2025Joe BidenCarlos Del Toro
–Victor Minella January 22, 2025April 16, 2025Donald TrumpTerence G. Emmert
John Phelan
–Brett A. Seidle April 16, 2025October 3, 2025Donald TrumpJohn Phelan
35Hung CaoOctober 3, 2025IncumbentDonald TrumpJohn Phelan