Roger M. Kyes
| Roger M. Kyes | |
|---|---|
| United States Deputy Secretary of Defense | |
|
In office January 30, 1953 – May 1, 1954 |
|
| President | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| Preceded by | William Chapman Foster |
| Succeeded by | Robert B. Anderson |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Roger Martin Kyes March 6, 1906 East Palestine, Ohio, United States |
| Died | February 14, 1971 (aged 64) Columbus, Ohio |
| Spouse(s) | Helen G. Kyes |
| Alma mater | Harvard University (B.A.) |
| Religion | Presbyterian |
Roger Martin Kyes (March 6, 1906 - February 14, 1971) was a General Motors executive who served as United States Deputy Secretary of Defense in 1953.
Roger M. Kyes was a native of Cleveland. Kyes got his start in farm implements, running a Cleveland firm that supplied implements to the Ferguson Company. In 1940, Harry Ferguson persuaded Kyes to join the Ferguson Company and Kyes relocated from Cleveland to Dearborn, Michigan. As Ferguson's Executive Vice President, Kyes was responsible for overseeing the firm's day-to-day business operations.
Kyes left the Ferguson Company in the 1940s, joining General Motors. There, he was responsible for the transit bus division of General Motors Diesel Division. Kyes was responsible for GM's bus division in the period in which transit buses overtook streetcars as the primary form of public transport in most large American cities; as such, Kyes features prominently in the well known conspiracy theory known as the General Motors streetcar conspiracy.
In 1953, President of the United States Dwight D. Eisenhower named GM president Charles Erwin Wilson as United States Secretary of Defense. Wilson asked to be allowed to bring Kyes along, so, at Wilson's request, Eisenhower nominated Kyes as United States Deputy Secretary of Defense. Kyes was sworn in on February 2, 1953, and served as Deputy Secretary of Defense until May 1, 1954. Upon becoming Deputy Secretary of Defense, Kyes criticized the United States military-defense establishment as dominated by "unrealistic requirements, poor planning and inefficient execution . . . waste of money, poor utilization of manpower, unnecessary drain of materials from the civilian economy, and the inefficient use of tools, equipment and facilities." He slashed the defense budget in an attempt to improve efficiencies, in the process gaining himself the nickname of "Jolly Roger" because of his piratical ruthlessness. As Deputy Secretary, Kyes was a member of the Committee on International Information Activities.
...
Wikipedia