Jim Mattis

Jim Mattis
Jim Mattis
	Official portrait, 2017
26th United States Secretary of Defense
	In office; January 20, 2017 – January 1, 2019
President	Donald Trump
Deputy	Robert O. Work; Patrick M. Shanahan
Preceded by	Ash Carter
Succeeded by	Mark Esper
11th Commander of the United States Central Command
	In office; August 11, 2010 – March 22, 2013
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	David Petraeus
Succeeded by	Lloyd Austin
5th Commander of the United States Joint Forces Command
	In office; November 9, 2007 – August 11, 2010
President	George W. Bush; Barack Obama;
Preceded by	Lance L. Smith
Succeeded by	Raymond T. Odierno
3rd Supreme Allied Commander Transformation
	In office; November 9, 2007 – September 8, 2008
Deputy	Luciano Zappata
Preceded by	Lance L. Smith
Succeeded by	Stéphane Abrial
Personal details
Born	James Norman Mattis; September 8, 1950; Pullman, Washington, U.S.
Political party	Independent
Spouse	Christina Lomasney (m. 2022)
Education	Central Washington University (BA); National Defense University (MA);
Signature
Nicknames	"Chaos" (callsign); "Warrior Monk"; "Mad Dog";
Military service
Branch/service	United States Marine Corps
Years of service	1969–2013
Rank	General
Commands	United States Central Command; United States Joint Forces Command; Supreme Allied Commander Transformation; I Marine Expeditionary Force; United States Marine Forces Central Command; Marine Corps Combat Development Command; 1st Marine Division; 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade; 7th Marine Regiment; 1st Battalion, 7th Marines;
Battles/wars	Gulf War; War in Afghanistan; Iraq War Invasion of Iraq; First Battle of Fallujah; Second Battle of Fallujah; ;
Awards	Defense Distinguished Service Medal (2); Navy Distinguished Service Medal; Defense Superior Service Medal; Legion of Merit; Bronze Star Medal (with Valor); Meritorious Service Medal (3);

James Norman Mattis (born September 8, 1950) is an American military veteran who served as the 26th United States secretary of defense from 2017 to 2019. A retired Marine Corps four-star general, he commanded forces in the Persian Gulf War, the War in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War.

Mattis was commissioned in the Marine Corps through the Naval Reserve Officers' Training Corps after graduating from Central Washington University. A career Marine, he gained a reputation among his peers for intellectualism and eventually advanced to the rank of general. From 2007 to 2010, he commanded the United States Joint Forces Command and concurrently served as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Transformation. He was commander of United States Central Command from 2010 to 2013, with Admiral Bob Harward serving as his deputy commander. After retiring from the military, he served in several private sector roles, including as a board member of Theranos.

Mattis was nominated as secretary of defense by president-elect Donald Trump, and confirmed by the Senate on January 20, 2017. As secretary of defense, Mattis affirmed the United States' commitment to defending longtime ally South Korea in the wake of the 2017 North Korea crisis. An opponent of proposed collaboration with China and Russia, Mattis stressed what he saw as their "threat to the American-led world order". Mattis occasionally voiced his disagreement with certain Trump administration policies such as the withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, withdrawals of troops from Syria and Afghanistan, and budget cuts hampering the ability to monitor the impacts of climate change. According to The Hill, Mattis also reportedly dissuaded Trump from attempting to assassinate Bashar al-Assad, the president of Syria.

On December 20, 2018, after failing to convince Trump to reconsider his decision to withdraw all American troops from Syria, Mattis announced his resignation effective the end of February 2019; after Mattis's resignation generated significant media coverage, Trump abruptly accelerated Mattis' departure date to January 1, 2019, stating that he had essentially fired Mattis.

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