robert michael gates (born september 25, 1943) is an american statesman, scholar, intelligence analyst, and university president who served as the 22nd united states secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011. he was originally appointed by president george w. bush but was retained for service by president barack obama. gates began his career serving as an officer in the united states air force but was quickly recruited by the central intelligence agency (cia). gates served for 26 years in the cia and the national security council, and was director of central intelligence under president george h. w. bush. after leaving the cia, gates became president of texas a&m university and was a member of several corporate boards. gates served as a member of the iraq study group, the bipartisan commission co-chaired by james a. baker iii and lee h. hamilton, that studied the lessons of the iraq war.