Robert J. Murray

Robert J. Murray (b. 1934) was United States Under Secretary of the Navy in 1980-81.

Robert J. Murray was born on August 30, 1934 in Marlborough, Massachusetts. He was educated at Suffolk University, receiving a B.S. in 1961. He then attended Harvard University, receiving an M.P.A. in 1966.

Upon graduation, Murray joined the United States Foreign Service and was posted as a political attaché at the Embassy of the United States in London from 1966 to 1972.

In 1973, he was appointed Assistant to the United States Secretary of Defense and the United States Deputy Secretary of Defense, serving under Elliot Richardson and later James R. Schlesinger. In 1975, President of the United States Richard Nixon appointed Nixon as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Manpower and Reserve Affairs), a post he held until 1976. During his time at the United States Department of Defense, Murray worked on implementing a new NATO strategy; transitioning the United States Armed Forces following the ending of the Vietnam War; and the transition of the United States Armed Forces to a volunteer military.