Mark Esper

Mark Esper
Esper in 2019
27th United States Secretary of Defense
In office July 23, 2019 – November 9, 2020
President	Donald Trump
Deputy	Richard V. Spencer (acting) David Norquist (acting)
Preceded by	Jim Mattis
Succeeded by	Lloyd Austin
Acting June 24, 2019 – July 15, 2019
President	Donald Trump
Deputy	David Norquist (acting)
Preceded by	Patrick M. Shanahan (acting)
Succeeded by	Richard V. Spencer (acting)
23rd United States Secretary of the Army
In office November 20, 2017 – July 23, 2019*
President	Donald Trump
Deputy	Ryan McCarthy
Preceded by	Ryan McCarthy (acting)
Succeeded by	Ryan McCarthy
Personal details
Born	Mark Thomas Esper (1964-04-26) April 26, 1964 (age 60) Uniontown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Leah Lacy ​ (m. 1989)​
Children	3
Relatives	George Esper (uncle)
Education	United States Military Academy (BS) Harvard University (MPA) George Washington University (PhD)
Occupation	Business executive, venture capitalist, politician
Civilian awards	Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service (two awards)
Signature
Website	https://www.marktesper.com/
Military service
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1986–2007
Rank	Lieutenant colonel
Unit	101st Airborne Division 82nd Airborne Division Virginia Army National Guard D.C. Army National Guard United States Army Reserve
Commands	B/3-325 Airborne Battalion Combat Team, Vicenza Italy
Battles/wars	Persian Gulf War
Military awards	Legion of Merit Bronze Star Medal Combat Infantryman Badge Kuwait Liberation Medal Meritorious Service Medal
Mark Esper's voice Mark Esper on the National Guard's response to the George Floyd riots and his role in the walk to St. John's Church Recorded June 3, 2020
*McCarthy served in an acting capacity from June 24, 2019 to July 15, 2019, while Esper served as Acting U.S. Secretary of Defense.

Mark Thomas Esper (born April 26, 1964) is an American politician and manufacturing executive who served as the 27th United States secretary of defense from 2019 to 2020. A member of the Republican Party, he had previously served as the 23rd U.S. secretary of the Army from November 2017 to July 2019.

A West Point graduate, Esper joined the United States Army and saw combat during the Gulf War as an infantry officer with the 101st Airborne Division. Esper subsequently served in the 82nd Airborne Division and the Army National Guard. After leaving military service, he served as chief of staff at the Heritage Foundation; a congressional staffer; a deputy assistant secretary of defense; and a senior executive for the Aerospace Industries Association, the Global Intellectual Property Center, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Immediately before joining the Trump administration, Esper lobbied for defense contractor Raytheon as its vice president of government relations.

In 2017, he joined the Trump administration as the 23rd secretary of the Army. In 2019, Esper was named acting defense secretary; he was confirmed shortly afterwards as the 27th defense secretary by the United States Senate with a vote of 90–8.^[1] He was dismissed from the office by President Donald Trump by Twitter posting on November 9, 2020.