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United States Secretary of the Navy

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United States Secretary of the Navy
Seal of the Department of the Navy
Flag of the secretary
Incumbent
John Phelan
since 25 March 2025
Department of the Navy
StyleMister Secretary
The Honorable (formally)
AbbreviationSECNAV
Reports toSecretary of Defense
Deputy Secretary of Defense
AppointerThe President,
with Senate advice and consent
Constituting instrument10 U.S.C. § 8013
Formation18 June 1798; 226 years ago (18 June 1798)
First holderBenjamin Stoddert
Succession3rd in SecDef succession
DeputyThe Under Secretary
(Principal Civilian Deputy)
Chief of Naval Operations
(Navy Advisor and Deputy)
The Commandant
(Marine Corps Advisor and Deputy)
SalaryExecutive Schedule, level II
Websitewww.secnav.navy.mil

The United States Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is the civilian head of the Department of the Navy. The position was a member of the President's Cabinet until 1947, when the Navy, Army, and newly created Air Force were placed in the Department of Defense and the Secretary of the Navy was placed under the Secretary of Defense.

Secretaries of the Navy

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  Denotes acting secretaries

[1]

Continental Congress

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Position Portrait Name Term of office
Chairman of the Marine Committee John Adams 13 October 1775 – 1779
Member of the Marine Committee John Langdon 13 October 1775–?
Member of the Marine Committee Silas Deane 13 October 1775–?
Member of the Marine Committee Joseph Hewes 1775[2]
Continental Navy Board
(under Marine Committee) 		6 November 1776 – 28 October 1779
Chairman of the Continental Board of Admiralty Francis Lewis December 1779 – 1780
Secretary of Marine Alexander McDougall 7 February 1781 – 29 August 1781
Agent of Marine
(devolved onto Superintendent of Finance) 		Robert Morris 29 August 1781 – 1784[3]

(Post of Secretary of Marine created but remained vacant)

Executive Department, 1798–1949

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  Denotes an Acting United States Secretary of the Navy
No. Portrait Name State Start End President(s)
1 Benjamin Stoddert Maryland 18 June 1798 31 March 1801 John Adams
(1797–1801)
Thomas Jefferson
(1801–1809)
2 Robert Smith Maryland 27 July 1801 4 March 1809
3 Paul Hamilton South Carolina 15 May 1809 31 December 1812 James Madison
(1809–1817)
4 William Jones Pennsylvania 19 January 1813 1 December 1814
5 Benjamin Crowninshield Massachusetts 16 January 1815 30 September 1818
James Monroe
(1817–1825)
6 Smith Thompson New York 1 January 1819 31 August 1823
7 Samuel L. Southard New Jersey 16 September 1823 4 March 1829
John Quincy Adams
(1825–1829)
8 John Branch North Carolina 9 March 1829 12 May 1831 Andrew Jackson
(1829–1837)
9 Levi Woodbury New Hampshire 23 May 1831 30 June 1834
10 Mahlon Dickerson New Jersey 1 July 1834 30 June 1838
Martin Van Buren
(1837–1841)
11 James K. Paulding New York 1 July 1838 4 March 1841
12 George E. Badger North Carolina 6 March 1841 11 September 1841 William Henry Harrison
(1841)
John Tyler
(1841–1845)
13 Abel P. Upshur Virginia 11 October 1841 23 July 1843
14 David Henshaw Massachusetts 24 July 1843 18 February 1844
15 Thomas W. Gilmer Virginia 19 February 1844 28 February 1844
16 John Y. Mason Virginia 26 March 1844 4 March 1845
17 George Bancroft Massachusetts 11 March 1845 9 September 1846 James K. Polk
(1845–1849)
18 John Y. Mason Virginia 10 September 1846 4 March 1849
19 William B. Preston Virginia 8 March 1849 22 July 1850 Zachary Taylor
(1849–1850)
20 William Graham North Carolina 2 August 1850 25 July 1852 Millard Fillmore
(1850–1853)
21 John P. Kennedy Maryland 26 July 1852 4 March 1853
22 James C. Dobbin North Carolina 8 March 1853 4 March 1857 Franklin Pierce
(1853–1857)
23 Isaac Toucey Connecticut 7 March 1857 4 March 1861 James Buchanan
(1857–1861)
24 Gideon Welles Connecticut 7 March 1861 4 March 1869 Abraham Lincoln
(1861–1865)
Andrew Johnson
(1865–1869)
25 Adolph E. Borie Pennsylvania 9 March 1869 25 June 1869 Ulysses S. Grant
(1869–1877)
26 George M. Robeson New Jersey 26 June 1869 4 March 1877
Acting William Faxon 4 March 1877 13 March 1877 Rutherford B. Hayes
(1877–1881)
27 Richard W. Thompson Indiana 13 March 1877 20 December 1880
28 Nathan Goff Jr. West Virginia 7 January 1881 4 March 1881
29 William H. Hunt Louisiana 7 March 1881 16 April 1882 James A. Garfield
(1881)
Chester A. Arthur
(1881–1885)
30 William E. Chandler New Hampshire 16 April 1882 4 March 1885
31 William C. Whitney New York 7 March 1885 4 March 1889 Grover Cleveland
(1885–1889)
32 Benjamin F. Tracy New York 6 March 1889 4 March 1893 Benjamin Harrison
(1889–1893)
33 Hilary A. Herbert Alabama 7 March 1893 4 March 1897 Grover Cleveland
(1893–1897)
34 John Davis Long Massachusetts 6 March 1897 30 April 1902 William McKinley
(1897–1901)
Theodore Roosevelt
(1901–1909)
35 William Moody Massachusetts 1 May 1902 30 June 1904
36 Paul Morton Illinois 1 July 1904 30 June 1905
37 Charles Bonaparte Maryland 1 July 1905 16 December 1906
38 Victor H. Metcalf California 17 December 1906 30 November 1908
39 Truman Handy Newberry Michigan 1 December 1908 4 March 1909
40 George von Lengerke Meyer Massachusetts 6 March 1909 4 March 1913 William Howard Taft
(1909–1913)
41 Josephus Daniels North Carolina 5 March 1913 4 March 1921 Woodrow Wilson
(1913–1921)
42 Edwin Denby Michigan 6 March 1921 10 March 1924 Warren G. Harding
(1921–1923)
Calvin Coolidge
(1923–1929)
Acting Theodore Roosevelt Jr. 10 March 1924 19 March 1924
43 Curtis D. Wilbur California 19 March 1924 4 March 1929
44 Charles Francis Adams III Massachusetts 5 March 1929 4 March 1933 Herbert Hoover
(1929–1933)
45 Claude A. Swanson Virginia 4 March 1933 7 July 1939 Franklin D. Roosevelt
(1933–1945)
46 Charles Edison New Jersey 7 July 1939 2 January 1940
2 January 1940 24 June 1940
Acting Lewis Compton 24 June 1940 11 July 1940
47 Frank Knox Illinois 11 July 1940 28 April 1944
Acting Ralph Austin Bard 28 April 1944 19 May 1944
48 James Forrestal New York 19 May 1944 17 September 1947
Harry S. Truman
(1945–1953)
49 John Sullivan New Hampshire 18 September 1947 24 May 1949
50 Francis P. Matthews Nebraska 25 May 1949 10 August 1949

Military Department (Department of Defense), 1949–present

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  Denotes an Acting United States Secretary of the Navy
No. Portrait Name Term of office President(s)
Start End Duration
50 Francis P. Matthews 10 August 1949 31 July 1951 797 Harry S. Truman
(1945–1953)
51 Dan A. Kimball 31 July 1951 20 January 1953 539
52 Robert Anderson 4 February 1953 3 March 1954 392 Dwight D. Eisenhower
(1953–1961)
53 Charles Thomas 3 May 1954 1 April 1957 1064
54 Thomas S. Gates Jr. 1 April 1957 8 June 1959 798
55 William B. Franke 8 June 1959 19 January 1961 591
56 John Connally 25 January 1961 20 December 1961 329 John F. Kennedy
(1961–1963)
57 Fred Korth 4 January 1962 1 November 1963 666
Acting Paul B. Fay 2 November 1963 28 November 1963 26
Lyndon B. Johnson
(1963–1969)
58 Paul Nitze 29 November 1963 30 June 1967 1309
Acting Charles F. Baird 1 July 1967 31 August 1967 61
59 Paul Ignatius 1 September 1967 24 January 1969 511
Richard Nixon
(1969–1974)
60 John Chafee 31 January 1969 4 May 1972 1189
61 John Warner 4 May 1972 8 April 1974 704
62 J. William Middendorf 8 April 1974 20 January 1977 1018
Gerald Ford
(1974–1977)
63 W. Graham Claytor Jr. 14 February 1977 24 August 1979 921 Jimmy Carter
(1977–1981)
64 Edward Hidalgo 24 October 1979 20 January 1981 454
65 John Lehman 5 February 1981 10 April 1987 2255 Ronald Reagan
(1981–1989)
66 Jim Webb 1 May 1987 23 February 1988 298
67 William L. Ball 28 March 1988 15 May 1989 413
George H. W. Bush
(1989–1993)
68 Henry L. Garrett III 15 May 1989 26 June 1992 1138
Acting Daniel Howard 26 June 1992 7 July 1992 11
69 Sean O'Keefe 7 July 1992 2 October 1992 87
2 October 1992 20 January 1993 110
Acting Frank Kelso 20 January 1993 21 July 1993 182 Bill Clinton
(1993–2001)
70 John H. Dalton 22 July 1993 16 November 1998 1943
71 Richard Danzig 16 November 1998 20 January 2001 796
Acting Robert B. Pirie Jr. 20 January 2001 24 May 2001 124 George W. Bush
(2001–2009)
72 Gordon R. England 24 May 2001 30 January 2003 616
Acting Susan Livingstone 30 January 2003 7 February 2003 8
Acting Hansford T. Johnson 7 February 2003 30 September 2003 235
73 Gordon R. England 1 October 2003 29 December 2005[4] 820
Acting Dionel M. Aviles 29 December 2005[4] 3 January 2006[4] 5
74 Donald C. Winter 3 January 2006[4] 13 March 2009[5] 1165
Barack Obama
(2009–2017)
Acting B. J. Penn 13 March 2009[5] 19 May 2009[6] 67
75 Ray Mabus 19 May 2009[5] 20 January 2017 2803
Acting Sean Stackley 20 January 2017 3 August 2017 195 Donald Trump
(2017–2021)
76 Richard V. Spencer 3 August 2017 15 July 2019 711
Acting Thomas Modly 15 July 2019 31 July 2019 16
76 Richard V. Spencer 31 July 2019 24 November 2019 116
Acting Thomas Modly 24 November 2019 7 April 2020 135
Acting James E. McPherson 7 April 2020 29 May 2020 52
77 Kenneth Braithwaite 29 May 2020[7] 20 January 2021 236
Acting Thomas Harker 20 January 2021 9 August 2021 201 Joe Biden
(2021–2025)
78 Carlos Del Toro 9 August 2021 20 January 2025 1260
Acting Terence Emmert 20 January 2025 25 March 2025 64 Donald Trump
(2025–present)
79 John Phelan 25 March 2025 Incumbent 10

References

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""Department of the Navy, Office of the General Counsel (DON-OGC) - OGC History"". Archived from the original on July 24, 2007. Retrieved September 23, 2007.

  1. ↑ "Department of the Navy, Office of the General Counsel (DON-OGC) – OGC History". Archived from the original on 2007-07-24. Retrieved 2007-09-23.
  2. ↑ Joseph HewesArchived 10 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval Historical and Heritage Command.
  3. ↑ Benson J. Lossing. Household History for All Readers Archived 30 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine. 1877. Republished in Our Country vol. 2
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Staff reporter (29 December 2005). "Acting Deputy Defense Secretary Relinquishes Top Navy Post". American Forces Press Service. Archived from the original on 27 May 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2009. Navy Undersecretary Dionel M. Aviles will serve as acting Navy secretary effective today. Donald Winter, who was confirmed by the Senate last month, will be sworn in as the 74th secretary of the Navy on Jan. 3.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Navy Secretary Departs Office" (Press release). United States Department of Defense. 13 March 2009. Archived from the original on 9 May 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2009. The 74th Secretary of the Navy, Donald C. Winter, resigned his office today as planned. Winter had agreed to remain in office until March 13, 2009, to ease the transition of the Department of Defense. [...] BJ Penn will be the acting Secretary of the Navy until the Senate confirms a nominee chosen by President Barack Obama.
  6. ↑ Staff reporter (19 May 2005). "Mabus Sworn in as New Navy Secretary". NNS. Archived from the original on 27 May 2009. Retrieved 20 May 2009. Ray Mabus, former Mississippi governor and U.S. ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was sworn in May 19 as the 75th secretary of the Navy. (Archived by WebCite at WebCite)
  7. ↑ "Kenneth Braithwaite Sworn in as Secretary of the Navy". USNI News. 2020-05-29. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
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