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Les Aspin

Les Aspin
Les Aspin official DoD photo.jpg
Chair of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board
In office
May 26, 1994 – May 21, 1995
President Bill Clinton
Preceded by William Crowe
Succeeded by Warren Rudman (Acting)
18th United States Secretary of Defense
In office
January 21, 1993 – February 3, 1994
President Bill Clinton
Deputy William Perry
Preceded by Dick Cheney
Succeeded by William Perry
Chair of the House Armed Services Committee
In office
January 3, 1985 – January 20, 1993
Preceded by Melvin Price
Succeeded by Ron Dellums
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Wisconsin's 1st district
In office
January 3, 1971 – January 20, 1993
Preceded by Henry Schadeberg
Succeeded by Peter Barca
Personal details
Born Leslie Aspin, Jr.
(1938-07-21)July 21, 1938
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Died May 21, 1995(1995-05-21) (aged 56)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Maureen Shea (1969–1979)
Education Yale University (BA)
University of Oxford (MA)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (PhD)
Military service
Allegiance  United States
Service/branch  United States Army
Years of service 1966–1968
Rank US military captain's rank.gif Captain

Leslie "Les" Aspin, Jr. (July 21, 1938 – May 21, 1995) was a United States Representative from 1971 to 1993, and the United States Secretary of Defense under President Bill Clinton from January 21, 1993 to February 3, 1994. In Congress, Aspin had a reputation as an intellectual who took a middle-of-the-road position on controversial issues. He supported the Reagan administration regarding the MX missile and aid to the Nicaraguan Contras, but he opposed the B-2 bomber and the Strategic Defense Initiative. He played a major role in convincing the House to support the January 1991 resolution supporting the use of force by President G.H.W. Bush against Iraq, after it invaded Kuwait. As Secretary of Defense, he faced complex social issues, such as the roles of homosexuals in uniform, and of women in combat. He faced major decisions regarding the use of military force in Somalia, Bosnia, and Haiti. He proposed budget cuts and restructuring of forces as part of the downsizing of the military after the end of the Cold War. The loss of American lives in Somalia because of inadequate military support led to his resignation.

Aspin was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He graduated from Shorewood High School. He attended Yale University, where he was admitted to the Zeta Psi fraternity, and graduated summa cum laude in 1960 with a Bachelor of Arts in history. In 1962, Aspin received his Master of Arts in economics from Oxford University and his Ph.D in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1966.

Aspin met his wife, Maureen Shea, in Saigon during the Vietnam War. Shea, a graduate of Hollins College, was working for a research firm interviewing Vietcong defectors when the two were introduced by a mutual acquaintance. After the project was completed she moved to Wisconsin to work on Aspin's unsuccessful bid for Wisconsin State Treasurer in 1968. The couple became engaged in October 1968 and married in January 1969 in Shea's hometown of Hillsdale, New York. The couple divorced in 1979 and had no children.


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