United States Under Secretary of the Navy


The Under Secretary of the Navy is the second-highest ranking civilian official in the United States Department of the Navy. The Under Secretary, called the "Under" in Pentagon slang, reports to the Secretary of the Navy. Before the creation of the Under Secretary's office, the second-highest civilian at the Department of the Navy was the Assistant Secretary of the Navy.
The current Acting Under Secretary of the Navy is Gregory J. Slavonic since April 24, 2020.

List of Under Secretaries of the Navy, 1940–present

The following men and women have held the post:
No.NameAssumed OfficeLeft OfficePresident Appointed BySecretary Served Under
1James V. ForrestalAugust 22, 1940May 16, 1944Franklin D. RooseveltFrank Knox
2Ralph A. BardJune 24, 1944June 30, 1945Franklin D. RooseveltJames Forrestal
3Artemus GatesJuly 3, 1945December 31, 1945Harry S. TrumanJames Forrestal
4John L. SullivanJune 17, 1946September 18, 1947Harry S. TrumanJames Forrestal
5W. John KenneySeptember 19, 1947September 24, 1949Harry S. TrumanJohn L. Sullivan
6Dan A. KimballMay 25, 1949July 31, 1951Harry S. TrumanFrancis P. Matthews
7Francis P. WhitehairAugust 7, 1951January 29, 1953Harry S. TrumanDan A. Kimball
8Charles S. ThomasFebruary 9, 1953August 5, 1953Dwight D. EisenhowerRobert B. Anderson
9Thomas S. Gates Jr.October 7, 1953April 1, 1957Dwight D. EisenhowerRobert B. Anderson,
Charles Thomas
10William B. FrankeApril 17, 1957June 7, 1959Dwight D. EisenhowerThomas S. Gates Jr.
11Fred A. BantzJune 8, 1959January 20, 1961Dwight D. EisenhowerWilliam B. Franke
12Paul B. FayFebruary 16, 1961January 15, 1965John F. KennedyJohn Connally, Fred Korth,
Paul Nitze
13Kenneth E. BeLieuFebruary 26, 1965July 1965Lyndon B. JohnsonPaul Nitze
14Robert H. B. BaldwinJuly 2, 1965July 31, 1967Lyndon B. JohnsonPaul Nitze
15Charles F. BairdAugust 1, 1967January 20, 1969Lyndon B. JohnsonPaul Robert Ignatius
16John WarnerFebruary 11, 1969May 4, 1972Richard NixonJohn Chafee
17Frank P. SandersMay 5, 1972June 29, 1973Richard NixonJohn Warner
18J. William MiddendorfAugust 3, 1973June 20, 1974Richard NixonJohn Warner
19David S. PotterAugust 28, 1974April 1, 1976Gerald FordJ. William Middendorf
20David R. MacdonaldSeptember 14, 1976February 4, 1977Gerald FordJ. William Middendorf
21R. James Woolsey Jr.March 9, 1977December 7, 1979Jimmy CarterW. Graham Claytor Jr.
22Robert J. MurrayFebruary 7, 1980September 29, 1981Jimmy CarterEdward Hidalgo, John Lehman
23James F. GoodrichSeptember 29, 1981August 6, 1987Ronald ReaganJohn Lehman
24Henry L. Garrett IIIAugust 6, 1987May 15, 1989Ronald ReaganJim Webb, William L. Ball
25J. Daniel HowardAugust 7, 1989January 20, 1993George H. W. BushHenry L. Garrett III, Sean O'Keefe
26Richard J. DanzigNovember 29, 1993May 30, 1997Bill ClintonJohn Howard Dalton
27Jerry MacArthur HultinNovember 13, 1997July 14, 2000Bill ClintonJohn Howard Dalton,
Richard Danzig
28Robert B. Pirie Jr.October 12, 2000June 6, 2001Bill ClintonRichard Danzig
29Susan M. LivingstoneJuly 26, 2001February 28, 2003George W. BushGordon R. England
30Dionel M. AvilesOctober 8, 2004Sept 27, 2006George W. BushGordon R. England,
Donald C. Winter
31Robert O. WorkMay 19, 2009March 22, 2013Barack ObamaRay Mabus
32Janine A. DavidsonMarch 17, 2016January 20, 2017Barack ObamaRay Mabus
–Thomas P. Dee February 17, 2017December 4, 2017Donald TrumpRichard V. Spencer
33Thomas B. ModlyDecember 4, 2017April 7, 2020Donald TrumpRichard V. Spencer
–Gregory J. Slavonic April 24, 2020IncumbentDonald TrumpJames E. McPherson,
Kenneth J. Braithwaite