Kathleen Hicks
Kathleen Hicks | |
|---|---|
Official portrait, 2023 | |
| 35th United States Deputy Secretary of Defense | |
| In office February 9, 2021 – January 20, 2025 | |
| President | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | David Norquist |
| Succeeded by | Steve Feinberg |
| 9th Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy | |
| In office May 24, 2012 – July 2, 2013 | |
| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | James N. Miller |
| Succeeded by | Brian P. McKeon |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Kathleen Anne Holland September 25, 1970 Fairfield, California, U.S. |
| Spouse | Thomas W. Hicks |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Mount Holyoke College (BA) University of Maryland, College Park (MPA) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (PhD) |
Kathleen Anne Holland Hicks (born September 25, 1970) is a former American civil servant who served as the United States deputy secretary of defense from 2021 to 2025. She is the first Senate-confirmed woman in this role and is the highest-ranking woman to have served in the United States Department of Defense.
Hicks previously served as the principal deputy under secretary of defense for policy during the Obama administration. By 2020, Hicks was an academic and national security advisor working as a senior vice president and director of the international security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.