Lloyd J. Austin III served as the 28th U.S. Secretary of Defense. Previously, he had a 41-year career in the U.S. Army, rising to the rank of four-star general. He is now CEO and co-founder of Clarion Strategies, a strategic-advisory firm.
As Secretary of Defense from January 2021 to January 2025, Mr. Austin led sweeping upgrades to U.S. military posture in the Indo-Pacific, helped rally the world to let Ukraine defend itself after Russia’s 2022 invasion, helped prevent all-out war in the Middle East after Hamas’s October 2023 assault on Israel, and worked with Congress to pass a National Defense Authorization Act that supported a historic $841 billion in defense funding.
In uniform, Mr. Austin commanded at the corps, division, battalion, and brigade levels. He spent years in combat and is a veteran of the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was awarded the Silver Star for his leadership as Deputy Commander of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division in 2003. In 2010, he became Commanding General of United States Forces – Iraq. Mr. Austin also did tours as the Director of the Joint Staff and as the Army’s Vice Chief of Staff. He concluded his service in uniform as Commander of U.S. Central Command.
Mr. Austin became a U.S. Army Infantry Second Lieutenant in 1975 after graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He holds an M.A. in counselor education from Auburn University and a Master of Business Management from Webster University.