Carter, Ashton Baldwin (1954-2022), served as United States secretary of defense from 2015 to 2017. Prior to taking the post, Carter had held numerous government and academic positions.
Carter—who was often called Ash Carter—was born in Philadelphia on Sept. 24, 1954. He earned bachelor’s degrees in medieval history and physics from Yale University in 1976. He then attended Oxford University in England, where he studied as a Rhodes scholar. He earned a doctorate degree in theoretical physics from the university in 1979. While still a student, he worked as a researcher and as a physics instructor.
In 1980 and 1981, Carter worked for the Office of Technology Assessment in the U.S. Congress. He then took a position in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. From 1982 to 1984, Carter served as a research fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1984, he became an assistant professor at Harvard University. He became a full professor in 1988. Also in 1988, he was named associate director of the university’s Center for Science and International Affairs. He served as director of the center from 1990 to 1993.
From 1993 to 1996, Carter served as assistant secretary of defense for international security policy in the administration of President Bill Clinton. From 1998 to 2000, he was a senior adviser in the U.S. State Department. He then returned to Harvard as a professor and chairman of the International and Global Affairs faculty at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. He also served as a director of the Preventive Defense Project, a program operated jointly by Harvard and Stanford universities.
From 2009 to 2011, Carter served as undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics in the administration of President Barack Obama. He was deputy secretary of defense from 2011 to 2013. In December 2014, Obama nominated Carter to succeed Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense. The U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination in February 2015. Carter served in the post until Obama left office in January 2017. Carter died on Oct. 24, 2022.
