Former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara Dies at the Age of 93

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates says Robert McNamara was a patriot and dedicated public servant who took on grave duties during a period of great consequence.

Robert McNamara in 1964. Photo: Wikipedia

(WASHINTON D.C.) - Statement by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on the Death of Robert Strange McNamara died today after a lifetime of U.S. government service. He was an American business executive and the eighth Secretary of Defense.

Robert McNamara's name is in the history books. He served as Defense Secretary for Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1968.

Later, he would become the President of the World Bank; a position he held from 1968 until 1981.

Mr. McNamara was responsible for the institution of systems analysis in public policy, which developed into the discipline known today as policy analysis.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates says Robert McNamara was a patriot and dedicated public servant who took on grave duties during a period of great consequence.

"Having also held this post in a time of war, I have a special appreciation of the burdens and responsibilities he faced," Gates said.

"As America's longest-serving secretary of defense, he implemented visionary reforms that fundamentally changed the way this department does business -- reforms that long outlasted his tenure at the Pentagon."

Gates says that with his keen analytical mind, Secretary McNamara never shied away from the most pressing national and international issues of his time -- above all, matters of war and peace including his own decisive role in shaping that history. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.