Pete Geren

Pete Geren
20th United States Secretary of the Army
In office March 9, 2007 – September 16, 2009
President	George W. Bush Barack Obama
Preceded by	Francis J. Harvey
Succeeded by	John M. McHugh
United States Secretary of the Air Force Acting
In office June 29, 2005 – November 4, 2005
Preceded by	Michael L. Dominguez
Succeeded by	Michael Wynne
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 12th district
In office September 12, 1989 – January 3, 1997
Preceded by	Jim Wright
Succeeded by	Kay Granger
Personal details
Born	Preston Murdoch Geren, III January 29, 1952 Fort Worth, Texas
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Beckie Ray
Relations	Charlie Geren (brother)
Children	Tracy, Annie, Mary
Alma mater	Georgia Tech University of Texas (B.A.) University of Texas Law School (J.D.)
Profession	Lawyer Businessman
[1]

Geren awarding the Distinguished Service Cross to 1LT Jackson.

Preston Murdoch Geren, III, known as Pete Geren^[2] (born January 29, 1952 in Fort Worth, Texas) served as the 20th United States Secretary of the Army from July 16, 2007 to September 16, 2009. He is a Democratic former member of the United States House of Representatives from Texas's 12th congressional district. He is currently president of the Sid W. Richardson Foundation in Fort Worth.^[3]

Education

Geren attended Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Georgia, from 1970 to 1973, where he was the starting center for the football team. He received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas in 1974 and his Juris Doctor from University of Texas Law School in 1978.

His older brother, Charlie Geren, is a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 99 in Tarrant County.

Congressional career

Prior to entering public service, Geren was an attorney and businessman in Fort Worth. He was from 1983 to 1985 an aide to Democrat U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen of Texas.^[1]

From 1989 until 1997, Geren served for four terms in the United States House of Representatives. He was first elected in a special election to succeed former Speaker of the House Jim Wright. He narrowly defeated Republican candidate, well known Fort Worth allergist Bob Lanier (not to be confused with the mayor of Houston of the same name). Geren was re-elected for three more terms, but opted not to run in 1996. He was succeeded by Kay Granger.

While in Congress, Geren was credited with coining the term "Blue Dog Democrat". Moderate and conservative Democrats in Congress chose to name their group after this term, creating the Blue Dog Coalition. Geren opined that the members had been "choked blue" by "extreme" Democrats from the left.^[4] It is related to the political term "Yellow Dog Democrat," a reference to southern Democrats said to be so loyal they would even vote for a yellow dog if it were labeled Democrat.

Department of Defense

Geren joined the Department of Defense in September 2001 to serve as Special Assistant to the Defense Secretary with responsibilities in the areas of inter-agency initiatives, legislative affairs and special projects.

On July 29, 2005, Bush appointed Geren the acting United States Secretary of the Air Force, a position he served in until the confirmation of his successor Michael Wynne in November 2005.

Geren at a press conference in 2007.

Geren was the 28th Undersecretary of the Army, a post he assumed on February 21, 2006, following his nomination by President George W. Bush and confirmation by the United States Senate. As the Undersecretary, Geren was the Army's No. 2 civilian leader. He served as the deputy and senior advisor to the Secretary of the Army and was Acting Secretary in the absence of the Secretary.

In March 2007, Geren was named Acting Secretary of the United States Army by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, after Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey resigned amidst the scandal at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. On July 16, 2007, the Senate confirmed Geren as Secretary of the Army.^[5] On August 30, 2007, Geren established the independent Commission on Army Acquisition and Program Management in Expeditionary Operations to investigate the contingency contracting crisis within the army.^{[6] [7]} This Gansler Commission was named after its chair, Jacques S. Gansler.

Quotes

• "We as an Army failed in our duty to the Tillman family, the duty we owe to all the families of our fallen soldiers: Give them the truth, the best we know it, as fast as we can."^[8]

See also

• List of U.S. political appointments that crossed party lines

References

1. "Pete Geren." Marquis Who's Who TM. Marquis Who's Who, 2009. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Michigan: Gale, 2009. Document Number: K2013035006. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC. Fee via Fairfax County Public Library, accessed May 11, 2009.
3. Leadership in the Sid W. Richardson Foundation, Official website, accessed January 8, 2012
4. WordCraft, November 11, 2004
5. Senate Names Pete Geren 20th Secretary of the Army
6. Army News Service (30 August 2007). "Army Fights Contracting Fraud". Department of the Army. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
7. Commission on Army Acquisition and Program Management in Expeditionary Operations (31 October 2007). "Urgent Reform Required: Army Expeditionary Contracting" (PDF). Department of the Army. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
8. "Shamefully unacceptable". Mercury News (San Jose, California). March 27, 2007. Retrieved May 11, 2009. Pat Tillman's family Monday blasted the latest Army investigation into his 2004 friendly fire death in Afghanistan as shamefully unacceptable, and vowed to press ahead with their own crusade to reveal the truth about the people who put him in harm's way – and concealed the real nature of his death for more than a month. The Pentagon announced Monday that one of... line feed character in |quote= at position 330 (help)

External links

• Secretary of the Army official site

• Pete Geren at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress