Patrick M. Shanahan

Patrick M. Shanahan
Official portrait, 2018
Acting United States Secretary of Defense
In office
January 1, 2019 – June 23, 2019
PresidentDonald Trump
DeputyDavid Norquist (acting)
Preceded byJim Mattis
Succeeded byMark Esper (acting)
33rd United States Deputy Secretary of Defense
In office
July 19, 2017 – January 1, 2019
PresidentDonald Trump
Secretary
  • Jim Mattis
  • Himself (acting)
Preceded byRobert O. Work
Succeeded byDavid Norquist
Personal details
Born
Patrick Michael Shanahan

(1962-06-27) June 27, 1962 (age 62)
Palo Alto, California, U.S.
Children3
Education

Patrick Michael Shanahan (born June 27, 1962) is an American businessman and the president and chief executive officer of Spirit AeroSystems.[1] He is a former United States federal government official who served as the acting United States Secretary of Defense in 2019. President Donald Trump appointed Shanahan to the role after the resignation of Jim Mattis. Prior to that, Shanahan served as Deputy Secretary of Defense from 2017 to 2019.[2] Before his government service, he previously spent 30 years at Boeing in a variety of roles.[3]

The White House announced on May 9, 2019, that Trump intended to nominate Shanahan as the Secretary of Defense.[4][5] That decision was reversed on June 18, 2019, when Shanahan said that he was withdrawing,[6] and Trump announced that he would be making Mark Esper the acting U.S. Secretary of Defense.[7] Shanahan's last day in that position was June 24, 2019.[8]

  1. ^ Insinna, Valerie; Ganapavaram, Abhijith; Ganapavaram, Abhijith (October 2, 2023). "Spirit Aero names board member Shanahan as interim CEO". Reuters. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  2. ^ Cooper, Helene; Rogers, Katie (December 23, 2018). "Trump, Angry Over Mattis's Rebuke, Removes Him 2 Months Early". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Sanders, Sarah (May 9, 2019). "President Trump intends to nominate Patrick M. Shanahan as Secretary of Defense.pic.twitter.com/RaOXb09qMr". @PressSec. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  5. ^ "Breaking tradition Trump plans to nominate an ex Pentagon supplier as defense secretary". MercoPress. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ @realDonaldTrump (June 18, 2019). "....I thank Pat for his outstanding service and will be naming Secretary of the Army, Mark Esper, to be the new Acting Secretary of Defense. I know Mark, and have no doubt he will do a fantastic job!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference :6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).