“As a matter of principle and political reality, the Department of Defense cannot expect America”
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #quote
Figure timeline
Robert Gates
Robert Michael Gates is an American intelligence analyst who served as the 22nd United States secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011 and as the 15th director of central intelligence from 1991 to 1993 as a member of the Republican Party. He has been the 24th chancellor of the College of William and Mary since 2012.
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
politics · American intelligence analyst (born 1943) · air force officer · politician · also Robert Gates, Robert Michael Gates, Robert M. Gates, Bob Gates, Gates
Born 25 September 1943 · Q212979
57 published statements · 0 followers
See & hear
Photos & media
14 photos · 1 audio
Listen
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates Announces Senior Personnel Turnover in the Wake of ADM Fallon's Resignation as CENTCOM Commander
Media from Wikimedia Commons, hotlinked at the source under its own licence — see each file for author and terms.
Live now
In the news
Pulling headlines from trusted outlets — this usually takes a few seconds
Checking the wires…
Feed scan
These are live links, not archived citations — they only join the timeline once a collect run verifies and archives them.
Live pulse
Recent highlights
Most recent outstanding titles, awards, and quotes
- Quote
- Quote
I am no stranger to contentious confirmations, and I do not shrink from them. However, I have decided that at this moment in our history, the nation, our men and women in uniform, and General Pace himself would not be well-served by a divisive ordeal in selecting the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
76%WikipediaSource
2026· 2 entries
“I am no stranger to contentious confirmations, and I do not shrink from them. However, I have decided that at this moment in our history, the nation, our men and women in uniform, and General Pace himself would not be well-served by a divisive ordeal in selecting the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.”
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #quote
2024· 1 entry
Cleveland.com: robert gates
- #news
- #headline
2016· 1 entry
Goodman said, "In my 24 years at the CIA, there was never the kind of toxic atmosphere that existed when Gates served as deputy director for intelligence, deputy director of CIA, and finally director of CIA
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
2015· 2 entries
Gates stated that the "status quo [ban on gay adult leaders] in [the BSA] movement's membership standards cannot be sustained" and that he would no longer seek to revoke the charters of scout units that accept gay adult
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
“It is important that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past, where tough economic times or the winding down of a military campaign leads to steep and unwise reductions in defense”
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #quote
2014· 1 entry
Christian Science Monitor: Robert Gates memoir shocks Washington
- #news
- #headline
2013· 1 entry
The Boy Scouts of America announced that Gates had been elected to the National executive board, serving initially as the national president-elect
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
2012· 3 entries
Starbucks Corporation announced that Gates had been elected to the Starbucks board of directors
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Career landmark: Chancellor of the College of William & Mary (2012).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #milestone
Gates was elected as a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
2011· 8 entries
It was announced that Gates had accepted the position of chancellor at the College of William & Mary, succeeding Sandra Day O'Connor for a seven-year term
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
And was presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, by President Obama during his retirement ceremony
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Won Presidential Medal of Freedom presented by Barack Obama (2011).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #trophy
- #achievement
Awarded Annenberg Award for Excellence in Diplomacy (2011).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #award
- #achievement
By Pete Souza during the raid that killed Al-Qaeda terrorist organization leader Osama bin Laden
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Gates told the press that "military forces are just one way to bring stability to Libya"
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
“I think that it would be a mistake to wait until January 2012,”
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #quote
“military forces are just one way to bring stability to Libya”
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #quote
2010· 3 entries
Gates stated that he would make politically unpopular cuts to the Pentagon bureaucracy in his future budgets
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Homosexuals are able to serve in the military openly
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
“The demilitarization of Europe—where large swaths of the general public and political class are averse to military force and the risks that go with it—has gone from a blessing in the 20th century to an impediment to achieving real security and lasting peace in the 21st”
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #quote
2009· 2 entries
As the speaker for the annual Aggie Muster ceremony
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Told David Gregory on Meet the Press that he would not commit to how long he would serve as Secretary of Defense but implied that he would not serve the entire first term
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
2008· 4 entries
President-elect Obama announced that Robert Gates would remain in his position as Secretary of Defense during his administration, reportedly for at least the first year of Obama's presidency
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
In response to the findings on Air Force misshipments of nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons components, Gates announced the resignations of Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne and Air Force Chief of Staff Michael M
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Gates was quoted in the Los Angeles Times as saying NATO forces in southern Afghanistan do not know how to properly combat a guerrilla insurgency and that could be contributing to rising violence in the country
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Gates also began the troop withdrawal of Iraq, a policy continued into the Obama administration
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
2007· 3 entries
Gates announced that he would not recommend the renomination of Peter Pace, the Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, due to anticipated difficulties with the confirmation process
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Gates was conferred the title of president emeritus by unanimous vote of the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Time named Gates one of the year's most influential people, and in 2008 he was named one of America's Best Leaders by U
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
2006· 6 entries
Gates was sworn in as Secretary of Defense by White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten at a private White House ceremony and then by Vice President Dick Cheney at the Pentagon
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
And was sworn in two days later as Secretary of Defense
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Gates replied to a question that, in his opinion, the United States was neither winning nor losing the war in Iraq
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
After the 2006 midterm election, President George W
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Career landmark: United States Secretary of Defense (2006–2011).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #milestone
“On GPS: Gates on Putin, 27 February 2022”
- #wikiquote
- #quote
2005· 1 entry
“s Academy for Future International Leaders that he had tentatively decided to accept the DNI position out of a sense of duty and had written an email that would be sent to students during the press conference to announce his decision, explaining that he was leaving to serve the U.S. once again. Gates, however, took the weekend to consider what his final decision should be, and ultimately decided that he was unwilling to return to Washington, D.C., in any capacity, simply because he”
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #quote
2002· 2 entries
Became the 22nd president of Texas A&M
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Career landmark: President of Texas A&M University (2002–2006).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #milestone
1998· 1 entry
Conferred upon him honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1996· 1 entry
Gates's autobiography, From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insider's Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War, was published
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1993· 2 entries
Said that Gates "was close to many figures who played significant roles in the Iran/contra affair and was in a position to have known of their activities
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Gates worked as an academic and lecturer
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1991· 4 entries
Any information that would "significantly bear on the fitness" of Gates for the CIA post
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Confirmed by the Senate on November 5, and sworn in on November 6
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Stansfield Turner, former Director of Central Intelligence, described the "enormity of this failure to forecast the magnitude of the Soviet crisis
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Career landmark: Director of Central Intelligence (1991–1993).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #milestone
1989· 1 entry
Career landmark: Deputy National Security Advisor (1989–1991).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #milestone
1986· 1 entry
Career landmark: Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (1986–1989).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #milestone
1984· 1 entry
As deputy director of CIA, Gates advocated that the U
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1983· 1 entry
“It has become clear that America’s civilian institutions of diplomacy and development have been chronically undermanned and underfunded for far too long – relative to what we spend on the military, and more important, relative to the responsibilities and challenges our nation has around the world.”
- #wikiquote
- #saying
- #undated
- #lang:en
1981· 1 entry
Deputy director for intelligence in 1982, and deputy director of central intelligence from April 18, 1986, to March 20, 1989
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1974· 2 entries
Under Joseph Schiebel, who, according to Gates, had been heavily influenced by Karl Wittfogel's studies on "Soviet communism and its resemblance to oriental despotism and the Asiatic mode of production, [and] the role of
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
To serve on the staff of the National Security Council
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1967· 1 entry
Was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force after attending Officer Training School under CIA sponsorship
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1943· 1 entry
Born 1943-09-25.
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #birth