Leon Panetta | Academy of Achievement

<!doctype html> <html lang="en-US"> <head><script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/bundle-playback.js?v=HxkREWBo" charset="utf-8"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/wombat.js?v=txqj7nKC" charset="utf-8"></script> <script>window.RufflePlayer=window.RufflePlayer||{};window.RufflePlayer.config={"autoplay":"on","unmuteOverlay":"hidden"};</script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/ruffle/ruffle.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> __wm.init("https://web.archive.org/web"); __wm.wombat("https://achievement.org/achiever/leon-panetta/","20200917235404","https://web.archive.org/","web","/_static/", "1600386844"); </script> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/_static/css/banner-styles.css?v=S1zqJCYt" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/_static/css/iconochive.css?v=3PDvdIFv" />  <meta charset="utf-8"> <meta http-equiv="x-ua-compatible" content="ie=edge"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="57x57" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/apple-touch-icon-57x57.png"/> <link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="114x114" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/apple-touch-icon-114x114.png"/> <link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="72x72" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/apple-touch-icon-72x72.png"/> <link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="144x144" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/apple-touch-icon-144x144.png"/> <link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="60x60" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/apple-touch-icon-60x60.png"/> <link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="120x120" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/apple-touch-icon-120x120.png"/> <link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="76x76" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/apple-touch-icon-76x76.png"/> <link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="152x152" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/apple-touch-icon-152x152.png"/> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/favicon-196x196.png" sizes="196x196"/> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/favicon-96x96.png" sizes="96x96"/> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/favicon-32x32.png" sizes="32x32"/> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/favicon-16x16.png" sizes="16x16"/> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/favicon-128.png" sizes="128x128"/> <meta name="application-name" content="Academy of Achievement"/> <meta name="msapplication-TileColor" content="#000000"/> <meta name="msapplication-TileImage" content="https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/mstile-144x144.png"/> <meta name="msapplication-square70x70logo" content="https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/mstile-70x70.png"/> <meta name="msapplication-square150x150logo" content="https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/mstile-150x150.png"/> <meta name="msapplication-wide310x150logo" content="https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/mstile-310x150.png"/> <meta name="msapplication-square310x310logo" content="https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/mstile-310x310.png"/> <link href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404cs_/https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Source+Sans+Pro:400,600,400italic,600italic,700,700italic&display=swap" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">  <title>Leon Panetta | Academy of Achievement</title> <meta name="description" content="In an era of bitter political partisanship, Leon Panetta is the rare public servant who enjoys unqualified respect from leaders of both parties. Born in Monterey, California to Italian immigrant parents who operated a restaurant, and later a farm of their own, he earned his law degree from Santa Clara University and served as an intelligence officer in the United States Army. In 1970, he was forced to resign his post as head of the Nixon administration’s Civil Rights Office when he would not yield to White House interference in his efforts to enforce the civil rights laws. A Republican, he eventually switched parties and won election to the U.S. Congress as a Democrat. Panetta represented the Monterey Bay area in Congress for 16 years, acquiring formidable expertise in the government’s finances as chairman of the House Budget Committee. As director of the White House Office of Management and Budget under President Clinton, he helped craft the plan that set the federal government on the path to its first balanced budget in over 25 years. As the president’s chief of staff, he negotiated the historic compromise with a Republican-led Congress that created record budget surpluses. Tapped to serve as director of the CIA by President Obama, Panetta oversaw planning for the operation that eliminated terrorist leader Osama bin Laden. When the president selected Panetta to serve as secretary of defense, all 100 members of the United States Senate voted to confirm his nomination."/> <meta name="robots" content="index, follow"/> <meta name="googlebot" content="index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1"/> <meta name="bingbot" content="index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1"/> <link rel="canonical" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/leon-panetta/"/> <meta property="og:locale" content="en_US"/> <meta property="og:type" content="article"/> <meta property="og:title" content="Leon Panetta | Academy of Achievement"/> <meta property="og:description" content="In an era of bitter political partisanship, Leon Panetta is the rare public servant who enjoys unqualified respect from leaders of both parties. Born in Monterey, California to Italian immigrant parents who operated a restaurant, and later a farm of their own, he earned his law degree from Santa Clara University and served as an intelligence officer in the United States Army. In 1970, he was forced to resign his post as head of the Nixon administration’s Civil Rights Office when he would not yield to White House interference in his efforts to enforce the civil rights laws. A Republican, he eventually switched parties and won election to the U.S. Congress as a Democrat. Panetta represented the Monterey Bay area in Congress for 16 years, acquiring formidable expertise in the government’s finances as chairman of the House Budget Committee. As director of the White House Office of Management and Budget under President Clinton, he helped craft the plan that set the federal government on the path to its first balanced budget in over 25 years. As the president’s chief of staff, he negotiated the historic compromise with a Republican-led Congress that created record budget surpluses. Tapped to serve as director of the CIA by President Obama, Panetta oversaw planning for the operation that eliminated terrorist leader Osama bin Laden. When the president selected Panetta to serve as secretary of defense, all 100 members of the United States Senate voted to confirm his nomination."/> <meta property="og:url" content="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/leon-panetta/"/> <meta property="og:site_name" content="Academy of Achievement"/> <meta property="article:modified_time" content="2018-07-19T03:56:59+00:00"/> <meta property="og:image" content="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/final-4-panetta-Feature-Image-760x304.png"/> <meta property="og:image:width" content="760"/> <meta property="og:image:height" content="304"/> <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary"/> <meta name="twitter:creator" content="@achievers1961"/> <meta name="twitter:site" content="@achievers1961"/> <script type="application/ld+json" class="yoast-schema-graph">{"@context":"https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/#organization","name":"Academy of Achievement","url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/","sameAs":["https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://www.linkedin.com/company/american-academy-of-achievement","https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChe_87uh1H-NIMf3ndTjPFw","https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_of_Achievement","https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://twitter.com/achievers1961"],"logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/#logo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/12.png","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"Academy of Achievement"},"image":{"@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/#logo"}},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/#website","url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/","name":"Academy of Achievement","description":"A museum of living history","publisher":{"@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/search/{search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/leon-panetta/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/final-4-panetta-Feature-Image.png","width":2800,"height":1120,"caption":"June 9, 2011: Leon E. Panetta, currently director of the Central Intelligence Agency, during his Senate Armed Services nomination hearing to be secretary of defense. (Photo by Scott J. Ferrell/Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images)"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/leon-panetta/#webpage","url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/leon-panetta/","name":"Leon Panetta | Academy of Achievement","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/leon-panetta/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2018-07-03T18:04:35+00:00","dateModified":"2018-07-19T03:56:59+00:00","description":"In an era of bitter political partisanship, Leon Panetta is the rare public servant who enjoys unqualified respect from leaders of both parties. Born in Monterey, California to Italian immigrant parents who operated a restaurant, and later a farm of their own, he earned his law degree from Santa Clara University and served as an intelligence officer in the United States Army. In 1970, he was forced to resign his post as head of the Nixon administration\u2019s Civil Rights Office when he would not yield to White House interference in his efforts to enforce the civil rights laws. A Republican, he eventually switched parties and won election to the U.S. Congress as a Democrat. Panetta represented the Monterey Bay area in Congress for 16 years, acquiring formidable expertise in the government\u2019s finances as chairman of the House Budget Committee. As director of the White House Office of Management and Budget under President Clinton, he helped craft the plan that set the federal government on the path to its first balanced budget in over 25 years. As the president\u2019s chief of staff, he negotiated the historic compromise with a Republican-led Congress that created record budget surpluses. Tapped to serve as director of the CIA by President Obama, Panetta oversaw planning for the operation that eliminated terrorist leader Osama bin Laden. When the president selected Panetta to serve as secretary of defense, all 100 members of the United States Senate voted to confirm his nomination.","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/leon-panetta/"]}]}]}</script>  <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://s.w.org/"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/web/20200917235404cs_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/dist/styles/main-fb4131a9f6.css"> <script>if (document.location.protocol != "https:") {document.location = document.URL.replace(/^http:/i, "https:");}</script><script src="/web/20200917235404js_/https://achievement.org/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery.js?ver=1.12.4-wp" id="jquery-core-js"></script> <script async src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404js_/https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=UA-2384096-1"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [ ] ; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag( 'js', new Date () ) ; gtag( 'config', 'UA-2384096-1'); gtag( 'config', 'AW-1021199739'); </script> </head> <body data-rsssl="1" class="achiever-template-default single single-achiever postid-48856 leon-panetta sidebar-primary">  <header class="main-header bg-black"> <div class="search-container clearfix"> <div class="container"> <a class="brand" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/"> <img class="logo" src="/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/logo@2x.png" alt="Academy of Achievement"/> </a> <div class="search-form__container"> <form action="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/" method="get" class="search-form"> <input type="search" name="s" id="search" class="form-control transparent-input" placeholder="Search" autocomplete="off" value=""/> <label for="s"><i class="icon-icon_search"></i></label> </form> </div> <ul id="menu-header-navigation" class="header-menu list-unstyled"><li class="menu-item menu-home"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/">Home</a></li> <li class="active menu-item menu-item-has-children menu-our-members"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/">Our Members</a> <ul class="sub-menu"> <li class="active menu-item menu-member-interviews"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/">Member Interviews</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-the-arts"><a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/#filter=.the-arts">The Arts</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-business"><a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/#filter=.business">Business</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-science-exploration"><a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/#filter=.science-exploration">Science & Exploration</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-public-service"><a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/#filter=.public-service">Public Service</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-sports"><a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/#filter=.sports">Sports</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-achiever-universe"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/universe/">Achiever Universe</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="menu-item menu-item-has-children menu-the-summit"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/summit/">The Summit</a> <ul class="sub-menu"> <li class="menu-item menu-summit-overview"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/summit/">Summit Overview</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-2019"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/summit/2019/">2019</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-2017"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/summit/2017/">2017</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-2014"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/summit/2014/">2014</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-2012"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/summit/2012/">2012</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-2010"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/summit/2010/">2010</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-2009"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/summit/2009/">2009</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-2008"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/summit/2008/">2008</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-2007"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/summit/2007/">2007</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-2006"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/summit/2006/">2006</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-2005"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/summit/2005/">2005</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-2004"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/summit/2004/">2004</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-2003"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/summit/2003/">2003</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="menu-item menu-item-has-children menu-our-history"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/our-history/">Our History</a> <ul class="sub-menu"> <li class="menu-item menu-about-the-academy"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/our-history/">About The Academy</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-academy-patrons"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/our-history/patrons/">Academy Patrons</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-delegate-alumni"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/our-history/alumni/">Delegate Alumni</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-directors-our-team"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/our-history/director-staff/">Directors & Our Team</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-golden-plate-awards-council"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/our-history/awards-council/">Golden Plate Awards Council</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-golden-plate-awardees"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/">Golden Plate Awardees</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="menu-item menu-item-has-children menu-keys-to-success"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/">Keys to Success</a> <ul class="sub-menu"> <li class="menu-item menu-overview"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/">Overview</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-passion"><a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/passion/">Passion</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-vision"><a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/vision/">Vision</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-preparation"><a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/preparation/">Preparation</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-courage"><a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/courage/">Courage</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-perseverance"><a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/perseverance/">Perseverance</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-integrity"><a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/integrity/">Integrity</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-the-american-dream"><a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/the-american-dream/">The American Dream</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-recommended-books"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/recommended-books/">Recommended Books</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-find-my-role-model"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/find-my-role-model/">Find My Role Model</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> <div class="nav-toggle"> <div class="icon-bar top-bar"></div> <div class="icon-bar middle-bar"></div> <div class="icon-bar bottom-bar"></div> </div> <div class="search-toogle icon-icon_search" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#searchModal" data-gtm-category="search" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Header Search Icon"></div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="" role="document"> <div class="content"> <main class="main"> <div class="feature-area__container"> <header class="feature-area feature-area--has-image ratio-container ratio-container--feature"> <figure class="feature-box"> <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image feature-area__image" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/final-4-panetta-Feature-Image.png [(max-width:544px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2018/06/final-4-panetta-Feature-Image-1400x560.png [(max-width:992px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2018/06/final-4-panetta-Feature-Image.png"></div> <div class="display--table"> <div class="display--table-cell"> <figcaption class="feature-area__text ratio-container__text container"> <div class="feature-area__text-inner text-white"> <h2 class="serif-8 feature-area__text-subhead back"><a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever">All achievers</a></h2> <h1 class="serif-1 entry-title feature-area__text-headline">Leon Panetta</h1> <h5 class="sans-6 feature-area__blurb">Political Leadership</h5> </div> </figcaption> </div> </div> </figure> </header> </div>  <nav class="in-page-nav row fixedsticky"> <ul class="nav text-xs-center clearfix" role="tablist"> <li class="nav-item col-xs-3"> <a class="nav-link active" data-toggle="tab" href="#biography" role="tab" data-gtm-category="tab" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever Biography">Biography</a> </li> <li class="nav-item col-xs-3"> <a class="nav-link" data-toggle="tab" href="#profile" role="tab" data-gtm-category="tab" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever Profile">Profile</a> </li> <li class="nav-item col-xs-3"> <a class="nav-link" data-toggle="tab" href="#interview" role="tab" data-gtm-category="tab" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever Interview">Interview</a> </li> <li class="nav-item col-xs-3"> <a class="nav-link" data-toggle="tab" href="#gallery" role="tab" data-gtm-category="tab" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever Gallery">Gallery</a> </li> </ul> </nav> <article class="post-48856 achiever type-achiever status-publish has-post-thumbnail hentry careers-attorney careers-politician"> <div class="entry-content container clearfix">  <div class="tab-content"> <div class="tab-pane active" id="biography" role="tabpanel"> <section class="achiever--biography"> <div class="banner clearfix"> <div class="banner--single clearfix"> <div class="col-lg-8 col-lg-offset-2"> <div class="banner__image__container"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/what-it-takes/id1025864075?mt=2" target="_blank"> <figure class="ratio-container ratio-container--square bg-black"> <img class="lazyload banner__image" data-src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/WhatItTakes_panetta-256-190x190.jpg" alt=""/> </figure> </a> </div> <div class="banner__text__container"> <h3 class="serif-3 banner__headline"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/what-it-takes/id1025864075?mt=2" target="_blank"> Listen to this achiever on <i>What It Takes</i> </a> </h3> <p class="sans-6 banner__text m-b-0"><i>What It Takes</i> is an audio podcast produced by the American Academy of Achievement featuring intimate, revealing conversations with influential leaders in the diverse fields of endeavor: public service, science and exploration, sports, technology, business, arts and humanities, and justice.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <header class="editorial-article__header col-md-8 col-md-offset-2 text-xs-center"> <i class="icon-icon_bio text-brand-primary"></i> <h3 class="serif-3 quote-marks">That's how our democracy functions. That's how we are able to govern and deal with the challenges we face, is when people are willing to come together — regardless of party, regardless of ideology — and work together, find compromise and get things done. That's the heart and soul of our democracy.</h3> </header> </div> <div class="row"> <aside class="col-md-4 sidebar clearfix"> <h2 class="serif-3 p-b-1">Leadership in War and Peace</h2> <div class="col-xs-12 sidebar--chunk p-b-2"> <dt class="serif-7">Date of Birth</dt> <dd class="sans-2"> June 28, 1938 </dd> </div> </aside> <article class="editorial-article col-md-8"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body data-rsssl="1"><p>Leon Panetta was born in the seaside city of Monterey, California, the second son of Carmelo and Carmelita Panetta, immigrants from Calabria in Southern Italy. When Leon Panetta was a small boy, his parents operated a restaurant in downtown Monterey, while his maternal grandfather, a retired merchant seaman, looked after Leon.</p> <figure id="attachment_49111" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-49111" style="width: 2880px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-49111 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404im_/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Panetta-Leon-playing-piano-as-a-child-and-wedding-photo-COMBINED.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-49111 lazyload" alt="" width="2880" height="1552" data-sizes="(max-width: 2880px) 100vw, 2880px" data-srcset="/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Panetta-Leon-playing-piano-as-a-child-and-wedding-photo-COMBINED.jpg 2880w, /web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Panetta-Leon-playing-piano-as-a-child-and-wedding-photo-COMBINED-380x205.jpg 380w, /web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Panetta-Leon-playing-piano-as-a-child-and-wedding-photo-COMBINED-760x410.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Panetta-Leon-playing-piano-as-a-child-and-wedding-photo-COMBINED.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-49111" class="wp-caption-text">“As a boy, I was an accomplished pianist, even getting a pretty glowing review in the local paper when I was ten. Practicing wasn’t my favorite way of spending time, though. Sports won the day. I met Sylvia at a mixer in Santa Clara University, where I was a student, in 1958. We hit it off that evening and began dating regularly. We were married on July 14, 1962. I still wear the watch she gave me as an engagement present, and I’ve always left it set to California time.” Today, the Panettas live in Carmel Valley, California. They have three sons and six grandchildren.</figcaption></figure> <p>The advent of World War II brought an influx of military personnel to nearby Fort Ord, a boon to the Panetta family restaurant business, but when the United States officially entered the war, Leon’s life changed abruptly. Fearing espionage and sabotage, the government imposed restrictions on citizens of the enemy nations: Germany, Italy, Japan, and their allies. Although Leon Panetta’s parents were naturalized citizens of the United States, Leon’s grandfather was still an Italian citizen and was ordered to relocate farther from the coast. Young Leon rode with his parents and grandfather to San José, where they left the grandfather in a boarding house with other relocated Italians. Although the impositions on German and Italian nationals were far less severe than those visited on Japanese — or even on American citizens of Japanese ancestry — the loss of his grandfather’s presence in his daily life was a blow for young Leon, his first experience of the injustice that can occur when fear overcomes reason.</p> <figure id="attachment_49115" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-49115" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-49115 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404im_/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-AP_255164705989.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-49115 lazyload" alt="" width="2280" height="1593" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-AP_255164705989.jpg 2280w, /web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-AP_255164705989-380x266.jpg 380w, /web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-AP_255164705989-760x531.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-AP_255164705989.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-49115" class="wp-caption-text">July 1970: Leon Panetta, former director of the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, speaks to a general session of the 61st national convention of the NAACP in Cincinnati. Panetta resigned as director because of what he called “political pressures” influencing enforcement of civil rights laws. Panetta, a 31‐year‐old lawyer, has been a strong advocate of school desegregation enforcement since his appointment. (AP)</figcaption></figure> <p>The Panettas’ family business prospered, and after the war, Leon’s parents sold their restaurants and bought a farm in the nearby Carmel Valley, where they raised fruit, walnuts, and almonds. Despite their unhappy experience during the war, the elder Panettas taught Leon to be grateful to the United States for all it had given them and to seek ways to serve his country. Leon did well in Catholic grammar schools in Monterey and Carmel, and at Monterey High School, where he became active in student politics. He graduated <em>magna cum laude</em> from Santa Clara University, a Jesuit institution, with a degree in political science. He remained at Santa Clara to study law and, in 1962, married Sylvia Varni, a nursing graduate from San Francisco. After receiving his law degree in 1963, Leon Panetta enlisted in the United States Army and was commissioned a second lieutenant. Assigned to Military Intelligence, he spent most of the next two years stationed at Fort Ord, not far from his family’s farm. He received the Army Commendation Medal for meritorious service and was discharged as a first lieutenant in 1966.</p> <figure id="attachment_49113" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-49113" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-49113 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404im_/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-72366972.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-49113 lazyload" alt="" width="2280" height="1538" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-72366972.jpg 2280w, /web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-72366972-380x256.jpg 380w, /web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-72366972-760x513.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-72366972.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-49113" class="wp-caption-text">November 1985: Rep. Leon Panetta talking about the debt cap. After serving as executive assistant to the mayor of New York City, John Lindsay, Panetta returned to Monterey, where he practiced law until his election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1976. Serving his Central Coast district in Congress for sixteen years, Panetta became a respected leader on agriculture, federal budget, ocean, and healthcare issues, and from 1989 to 1993, he chaired the House Budget Committee. Panetta won passage of the Hunger Prevention Act of 1988, Medicare and Medicaid coverage of hospice care for the terminally ill, and numerous measures to protect the California coast, including the creation of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. (Terry Ashe/LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure> <p>At the time, Leon Panetta identified with the liberal wing of the Republican Party, associated with Governor Nelson Rockefeller of New York and with a number of California statesmen, including Chief Justice Earl Warren and Senator Thomas Kuchel. As assistant minority leader in the Senate, Senator Kuchel worked with President Lyndon Johnson and senators from both sides of the aisle to win passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Pursuing his interest in public service, Panetta joined the staff of Senator Kuchel as a legislative assistant. On Kuchel’s staff, Leon Panetta acquired expertise in the emerging body of civil rights law. In 1968, the senator, at odds with the increasingly conservative direction of California Republicans, lost his party’s primary.</p> <figure id="attachment_49116" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-49116" style="width: 1308px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-49116 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404im_/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-50586539.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-49116 lazyload" alt="" width="1308" height="1967" data-sizes="(max-width: 1308px) 100vw, 1308px" data-srcset="/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-50586539.jpg 1308w, /web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-50586539-253x380.jpg 253w, /web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-50586539-505x760.jpg 505w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-50586539.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-49116" class="wp-caption-text">October 20, 1989: House Budget Committee Chairman Leon E. Panetta (D-Calif.) accompanied Bush on a walking tour to see damage in Santa Cruz, which is in Panetta’s district and was near the quake’s epicenter. Panetta, who has criticized Bush for lack of fiscal discipline on other issues, said Congress would find a way to finance the relief effort. He said “the damage figures are going up almost hourly” and might top $1 billion in Santa Cruz. But he added, “When it comes to this kind of emergency, we’re going to find” the money. (Dirck Halstead/LIFE Images)</figcaption></figure> <p>A California ally of Senator Kuchel’s, Lt. Governor Robert Finch, was named to serve as Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the incoming administration of President Richard Nixon. Finch invited Panetta to join the department and placed him in charge of the Office of Civil Rights. Panetta was eager to set about the work of desegregating the nation’s schools, but President Nixon had promised a number of Southern leaders that, in exchange for their support, his administration would ease up on enforcement of the civil rights laws and the desegregation of public schools. Panetta continued to enforce the law despite increasing pressure from his superiors. Little more than a year after taking office, he was informed indirectly that he had “resigned” his office.</p> <figure id="attachment_49118" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-49118" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-49118 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404im_/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-50473056.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-49118 lazyload" alt="" width="2280" height="1509" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-50473056.jpg 2280w, /web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-50473056-380x252.jpg 380w, /web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-50473056-760x503.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-50473056.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-49118" class="wp-caption-text">1993: President-elect Bill Clinton and Vice President-elect Al Gore meeting with their National Economic Council: (front L-R) Commerce Secretary Ron Brown, Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen; (back L-R) Budget Director Leon Panetta, Assistant to the President for Economic Policy Robert Rubin, et al. (Steve Liss/LIFE Images/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure> <p>With a growing family to support, Panetta was unsure of his future in politics. He joined the administration of New York City Mayor John Lindsay, another liberal Republican. Both Lindsay and Panetta became frustrated with the Republican Party’s increasingly conservative direction and eventually re-registered as Democrats. Returning to California, Panetta practiced law in Monterey and wrote a book about his experience in the Nixon administration, <em>Bring Us Together: The Nixon Team’s Retreat from Civil Rights</em> (1971). Panetta’s book and his principled stand on school desegregation drew national attention. After a few years of practicing law in Monterey, he won election to Congress, representing the Monterey Bay area in Washington.</p> <figure id="attachment_49141" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-49141" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-49141 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404im_/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-113252301.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-49141 lazyload" alt="" width="2280" height="1520" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-113252301.jpg 2280w, /web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-113252301-380x253.jpg 380w, /web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-113252301-760x507.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-113252301.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-49141" class="wp-caption-text">April 28, 2011: (L-R) CIA Director Leon Panetta delivers remarks as Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, U.S. Army General David Petraeus, Marine Corps General John Allen and Ambassador Ryan Crocker stand by in the East Room of the White House. President Barack Obama has tapped Panetta to succeed Gates at the Department of Defense, General Petraeus to be the next CIA director, Crocker to be the next U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, and General Allen to succeed Petraeus as commander of ISAF and U.S. forces in Afghanistan. (Chip Somodevilla)</figcaption></figure> <p>In Congress, Panetta applied himself to mastering the details of the massive and complex federal budget. He earned a reputation for hard work, honesty, and willingness to look beyond partisan disputes to pursue the common good. Sylvia Panetta oversaw the local offices in his congressional district, where he remained popular and was repeatedly re-elected. In addition to his interest in civil rights and fiscal policy, he became a champion of environmental issues vital to his native region, protecting the California coastline from oil drilling and writing legislation that created the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. He also assisted in the establishment of California State University, Monterey Bay, located at the former site of Fort Ord, the army base where he had spent his own years in uniform. Congressman Panetta wrote the Hunger Protection Act of 1988 and the following year became chairman of the House Committee on the Budget. Throughout his eight full terms in Congress, Panetta combined commitment to education and healthcare with a commitment to securing the nation’s finances.</p> <figure id="attachment_50000" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-50000" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-50000 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404im_/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-120280965.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-50000 lazyload" alt="" width="2280" height="1505" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-120280965.jpg 2280w, /web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-120280965-380x251.jpg 380w, /web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-120280965-760x502.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-120280965.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-50000" class="wp-caption-text">August 3, 2011: President Barack Obama during a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington, D.C.  Obama called on Congress to break its recess to end a row which has partially shut the Federal Aviation Administration and could cost taxpayers a billion dollars. With President Obama is Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. (© Jewel Samad/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure> <p>Leon Panetta was elected to a ninth term in Congress in 1992, but after a presidential campaign in which the country’s ever-growing budget deficits had been a major issue, President-elect Bill Clinton called on the Californian to head the White House Office of Management and the Budget (OMB). As OMB director, Panetta helped draft the president’s first budget proposal to Congress. The budget increased taxes on the most affluent while continuing the previous administration’s policy of reducing defense expenditures to reflect the changing priorities of the post-Cold War era. On this basis, each year’s budget ran a progressively smaller deficit. Panetta’s work had laid the groundwork for a future balanced budget. Panetta’s integrity and administrative skills made a profound impression on the new president and his inner circle. In 1994, Leon Panetta was named White House Chief of Staff, tasked with imposing order on a White House operation that had grown increasingly chaotic.</p> <figure id="attachment_49980" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-49980" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-49980 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404im_/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-135718485.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-49980 lazyload" alt="" width="2280" height="1386" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-135718485.jpg 2280w, /web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-135718485-380x231.jpg 380w, /web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-135718485-760x462.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-135718485.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-49980" class="wp-caption-text">December 13, 2011: U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta speaks to military personnel during his visit to Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti. Leon Panetta arrived in Djibouti for an hours-long visit during which he was to meet with President Ismael Omar Guelleh for talks on counterterrorism measures. (PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS/AFP/Getty)</figcaption></figure> <p>As Chief of Staff, Panetta became a principal negotiator with the Republican-led Congress. The budget of 1996 continued the administration’s progress toward the first balanced budget in nearly 30 years. With revenues increasing and expenditures held in check, the federal budget of 1998 saw income finally exceed expenditure. The federal government ran a surplus for the remaining years of the Clinton administration.</p> <figure id="attachment_49981" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-49981" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-49981 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404im_/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-138960830.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-49981 lazyload" alt="" width="2280" height="3044" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-138960830.jpg 2280w, /web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-138960830-285x380.jpg 285w, /web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-138960830-569x760.jpg 569w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-138960830.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-49981" class="wp-caption-text">February 14, 2012: China’s Vice President Xi Jinping (L) and Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta arrive to review a guard of honor before their meeting at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. China’s likely next leader, Xi Jinping said Beijing will take concrete steps to improve human rights as he admitted “there is always room for improvement.”</figcaption></figure> <p>Panetta stayed with the Clinton administration through the president’s successful re-election campaign of 1996 and then returned to California. He and his wife, Sylvia, founded the Panetta Institute for Public Policy. Based on the campus of Cal State Monterey, the Institute provides a variety of study opportunities in government, politics, and public policy throughout the California State University system, including a lecture series, research archives and fellowships, legislative internships, and leadership seminars.</p> <p>No longer in public office, Leon Panetta remained a sought-after authority on public affairs. In 2006, with the administration of President George W. Bush mired in a frustrating occupation and counterinsurgency operation in Iraq, Panetta was asked to join former Secretary of State James Baker and former House Foreign Affairs Chairman Lee Hamilton in the Iraq Study Group, to review policy in the region and consider alternatives to the current policy.</p> <figure id="attachment_49167" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-49167" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-49167 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404im_/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-Academy_141.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-49167 lazyload" alt="" width="2280" height="1520" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-Academy_141.jpg 2280w, /web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-Academy_141-380x253.jpg 380w, /web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-Academy_141-760x507.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-Academy_141.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-49167" class="wp-caption-text">2012: Academy Platinum Patron Stanley Zax presents the Academy of Achievement’s Gold Medal to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and inducts him into the American Academy of Achievement during the 50th-anniversary International Achievement Summit. The awards ceremony was held at the Hay-Adams Hotel in Washington, D.C.</figcaption></figure> <p>In the closing months of 2008, President-elect Barack Obama asked Leon Panetta to serve as director of the CIA. Trust in the agency had eroded following the terror attacks of September 11, 2001 and the subsequent war in Iraq. In both cases, public opinion faulted the intelligence agency — for not cooperating with domestic law enforcement to prevent the September 11th attacks and for justifying the invasion of Iraq on the mistaken assumption that Iraq was concealing weapons of mass destruction.</p> <figure id="attachment_2624" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2624" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-2624 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404im_/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/pet0-012.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-2624 lazyload" alt="U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta greets the Director of the CIA, David Petraeus, at the 2012 International Achievement Summit in Washington D.C. Petraeus succeeded Panetta as CIA Director when Panetta moved to the Pentagon. (© Academy of Achievement)" width="2280" height="1520" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/pet0-012.jpg 2280w, /web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/pet0-012-380x253.jpg 380w, /web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/pet0-012-760x507.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/pet0-012.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-2624" class="wp-caption-text">U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta greets the director of the CIA, David Petraeus, at the 2012 International Achievement Summit in Washington, D.C.  Petraeus succeeded Panetta as CIA director on September 6, 2011.</figcaption></figure> <p>Panetta was uncertain that his two years of service as an intelligence officer more than 40 years earlier qualified him for this position, but President Obama believed that an outsider was needed to restore the agency’s credibility. As CIA director, Panetta placed a priority on the capture or elimination of Osama bin Laden, leader of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda, responsible for the 2001 attacks on America. Early in his tenure, the agency suffered a horrible loss when seven CIA officers, following a lead on bin Laden’s whereabouts, were killed by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan. Panetta redoubled efforts to locate the terrorist leader.</p> <figure id="attachment_49992" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-49992" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-49992 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404im_/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-Friday-Evening-Speaker-172.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-49992 lazyload" alt="" width="2280" height="1824" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-Friday-Evening-Speaker-172.jpg 2280w, /web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-Friday-Evening-Speaker-172-380x304.jpg 380w, /web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-Friday-Evening-Speaker-172-760x608.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-Friday-Evening-Speaker-172.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-49992" class="wp-caption-text">2014: Golden Plate Awards Council member Leon Panetta addresses the Academy delegates at the introductory dinner and symposium during the 51st annual International Achievement Summit in San Francisco, California.</figcaption></figure> <p>As CIA director, Panetta’s efficiency and determination were praised by agency staff and others in the national security community. In April 2011, President Obama nominated Panetta to serve as Secretary of Defense, but Panetta had an unfinished job to complete at the CIA. Analysts had identified a compound in Pakistan that Panetta and others suspected was bin Laden’s hiding place. On May 2, 2011, a Navy SEAL team, operating on CIA intelligence, attacked the compound and bin Laden was killed in the ensuing firefight. Leon Panetta’s tenure at the CIA ended on a note of triumph, and his nomination as Secretary of Defense was approved by all 100 members of the United States Senate.</p> <figure id="attachment_1845" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1845" style="width: 1680px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-1845 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404im_/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/181.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-1845 lazyload" alt="Governor Jerry Brown joins Summit Chair Catherine Reynolds and Leon Panetta at the Achievement Summit." width="1680" height="1344" data-sizes="(max-width: 1680px) 100vw, 1680px" data-srcset="/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/181.jpg 1680w, /web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/181-380x304.jpg 380w, /web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/181-760x608.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/181.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1845" class="wp-caption-text">2014: Jerry Brown, Governor of California, joins Summit Chair Catherine B. Reynolds and Leon Panetta at the American Academy of Achievement’s 51st International Achievement Summit, held in San Francisco, California.</figcaption></figure> <p>At the CIA, Panetta had extended spousal benefits to the same-sex partners of its LGBT employees. At the Pentagon, he joined the Joint Chiefs of Staff in certifying the end of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy which had required gay service personnel to conceal their sexual identities. As OMB director in the 1990s, Panetta had taken the end of the Cold War as an opportunity to reduce defense spending and balance the federal budget. But in 2011, with the country engaged in armed conflicts in both Iraq and Afghanistan, Panetta asserted that further cuts would hamper the nation’s ability to deter threats from China, North Korea, and Iran. Panetta considered the possible acquisition of nuclear weapons by Iran to be an unacceptable threat to the peace of the world. In planning a 21st-century defense strategy, he also proposed reforms to the military pension and healthcare systems. In one of his last acts as secretary of defense, he directed all branches of the military to determine which jobs were not open to women and to produce timetables for integrating women into every area of the service.</p> <figure id="attachment_49145" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-49145" style="width: 1883px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="wp-image-49145 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404im_/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Panetta-Leon-Worthy-Fights-book.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-49145 size-full lazyload" alt="" width="1883" height="2824" data-sizes="(max-width: 1883px) 100vw, 1883px" data-srcset="/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Panetta-Leon-Worthy-Fights-book.jpg 1883w, /web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Panetta-Leon-Worthy-Fights-book-253x380.jpg 253w, /web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Panetta-Leon-Worthy-Fights-book-507x760.jpg 507w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Panetta-Leon-Worthy-Fights-book.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-49145" class="wp-caption-text">2014: <em>Worthy Fights: A Memoir of Leadership in War and Peace</em> by Leon Panetta and Jim Newton. Like his career, <em>Worthy Fights </em>is a reflection of Panetta’s values. It is also a testament to a lost kind of political leadership that favors progress and duty to country over partisanship. Leon Panetta calls them as he sees them in <em>Worthy Fights</em>. Suffused with its author’s decency and common sense, the book is an inspiring American success story, a great political memoir, and a revelatory view onto many of the defining figures and events of our time. (© Penguin)</figcaption></figure> <p>Leon Panetta retired from the Department of Defense in 2013 and returned to California to direct the Panetta Institute with his wife, Sylvia. He also serves on the boards of the New York Stock Exchange, the Oracle Corporation and the insurance company Blue Shield of California. He reviewed his long political career, and his policy successes as well as his disagreements with the presidents he served, in his 2014 memoir, <em>Worthy Fights</em>. Leon and Sylvia Panetta make their home on the family walnut ranch in Carmel Valley. The youngest of their three sons, Jimmy Panetta, was elected to the House of Representatives in 2016, representing virtually the same area his father was elected to serve 40 years before.</p> </body></html> <div class="clearfix"> </div> </article> </div> </section> </div> <div class="tab-pane" id="profile" role="tabpanel"> <section class="clearfix"> <header class="editorial-article__header"> <figure class="text-xs-center"> <img class="inductee-badge" src="/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/inducted-badge@2x.png" alt="Inducted Badge" width="120" height="120"/> <figcaption class="serif-3 text-brand-primary"> Inducted in 2012 </figcaption> </figure> </header> <div class="row"> <aside class="col-md-4 sidebar"> <dl class="clearfix m-b-0"> <div class="col-xs-12 sidebar--chunk p-b-2"> <dt class="serif-7">Career</dt> <dd class="sans-2"> <div><a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/#filter=.attorney">Attorney</a></div> <div><a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/#filter=.politician">Politician</a></div> </dd> </div> <div class="col-xs-12 sidebar--chunk p-b-2"> <dt class="serif-7">Date of Birth</dt> <dd class="sans-2"> June 28, 1938 </dd> </div> </dl> </aside> <article class="col-md-8 editorial-article clearfix"> <p>In an era of bitter political partisanship, Leon Panetta is the rare public servant who enjoys unqualified respect from leaders of both parties. Born in Monterey, California to Italian immigrant parents who operated a restaurant, and later a farm of their own, he earned his law degree from Santa Clara University and served as an intelligence officer in the United States Army.</p> <p>In 1970, he was forced to resign his post as head of the Nixon administration’s Civil Rights Office when he would not yield to White House interference in his efforts to enforce the civil rights laws. A Republican, he eventually switched parties and won election to the U.S. Congress as a Democrat. Panetta represented the Monterey Bay area in Congress for 16 years, acquiring formidable expertise in the government’s finances as chairman of the House Budget Committee. As director of the White House Office of Management and Budget under President Clinton, he helped craft the plan that set the federal government on the path to its first balanced budget in over 25 years. As the president’s chief of staff, he negotiated the historic compromise with a Republican-led Congress that created record budget surpluses.</p> <p>Tapped to serve as director of the CIA by President Obama, Panetta oversaw planning for the operation that eliminated terrorist leader Osama bin Laden. When the president selected Panetta to serve as secretary of defense, all 100 members of the United States Senate voted to confirm his nomination.</p> </article> </div> </section> </div> <div class="tab-pane" id="interview" role="tabpanel"> <section class="clearfix"> <div class="col-md-12 interview-feature-video"> <figure> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/CF9E3zV-Gio?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Panetta-Leon-2017-MasterEdit.00_36_55_22.Still009-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Panetta-Leon-2017-MasterEdit.00_36_55_22.Still009-760x428.jpg"></div> <div class="video-tag sans-4"> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> <div class="video-tag__text">Watch full interview</div> </div> </div> </figure> </div> <header class="col-md-12 text-xs-center m-b-2"> <i class="icon-icon_bio text-brand-primary"></i> </header> <aside class="col-md-4 sidebar"> <h2 class="serif-3 achiever--biography-subtitle">Leadership in War and Peace</h2> <div class="sans-2">Seaside, California</div> <div class="sans-2">September 14, 2017</div> </aside> <article class="editorial-article col-md-8">   <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p><strong>You were director of the CIA during the planning of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. Can you take us back to those days? What was it like?</strong></p> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/nZBWVCW8p6w?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Panetta-Leon-2017-MasterEdit.01_22_10_20.Still003-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Panetta-Leon-2017-MasterEdit.01_22_10_20.Still003-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> <figcaption class="achiever__interview-video-terms"> <span>Keys to success —</span> <a class="comma-item" href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/perseverance/">Perseverance</a> </figcaption> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>One of the things the president made clear is that we really did have to go after bin Laden, and I remember sitting down with people at the CIA and saying, “Where the hell is this guy? It’s been over ten years!” And they said, “Every clue we’ve gone after, every lead we’ve gone after, has led nowhere. We don’t know where he is. He could be in a cave. He could be anywhere.”</p> <p>And I said, “Look, we’re going to form a task force, and we are really going to focus on developing ideas as to how we can get to bin Laden.” And I really was tough on them. The old “you’ve got to beat them up to make sure they’re doing the job.” Our goal was to go after bin Laden. I said, “I want you to come in and brief me every week as to what’s going on, and I do not want you to come into this room and tell me we don’t have anything. That’s unacceptable. I expect you to come in here, and if you don’t have anything, I want five new ideas about how we can try to locate him.” So they did, to their credit. They came up with all kinds of ideas.</p> <p>We finally had a great lead, which was the couriers to bin Laden. We were able to identify who they were. We identified their faces. And we actually found them in a town called Peshawar and tracked them from Peshawar in Pakistan to a place called Abbottabad, where we found this compound. And once we saw the compound, we knew something was up. This was a compound that was three times the size of other compounds, had 18-foot walls on one side, 12-foot walls on another side, barbed wire at the top. We knew there was high security there. We identified a family — that there was a family living on the third floor that resembled a lot of the members of the family of bin Laden. And so we really thought we had a great breakthrough.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/vVMp9l9QB2g?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Panetta-Leon-2017-MasterEdit.00_15_31_21.Still006-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Panetta-Leon-2017-MasterEdit.00_15_31_21.Still006-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> <figcaption class="achiever__interview-video-terms"> <span>Keys to success —</span> <a class="comma-item" href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/courage/">Courage</a> </figcaption> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>The president says we really should conduct this operation. We’ve decided on using the SEALs — a commando raid. Two teams of SEALs, two helicopters going in, 150 miles, at night, into Pakistan to go after this compound. It was a hell of a mission and very risky. And frankly, when we were in the National Security Council, a majority of the people on the National Security Council thought it was too risky. I thought that we should do it. I recommended that to the president, and the president, to his credit, made the decision to go. So I’m at CIA. We are conducting the operation from CIA because it’s a covert operation. I’m in charge. Bill McRaven, who is head of Special Forces, is located in Afghanistan, and he’s tracking it from there.</p> <p>The helicopters go in. We track them into the compound and then something happens that — it’s one of those nightmares that you wonder if it’s going to screw up everything. One of the helicopters goes down. It had been hot that day and heat from the ground stalled one of the engines. But to the credit of that pilot, he was able to set down the helicopter. The tail was up on a wall. And I remember saying to McRaven, “What the hell’s going on?” He said, “Don’t worry.” He was cool as a cucumber. He said, “Don’t worry. I’ve got a backup helicopter coming in. Our Special Forces are going to go in. They’re going to breach the walls. They’re going to keep going with the mission.” And I said, “God bless you. Let’s get it done.” There was a moment of silence — actually, almost 20 minutes of silence. We heard gunfire at the beginning of that.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/kFvz_4PgtAc?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Panetta-Leon-2017-MasterEdit.01_16_42_18.Still018-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Panetta-Leon-2017-MasterEdit.01_16_42_18.Still018-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>We don’t know exactly what’s happening. I know there’s gunfire. That tells you something. And then about 20 minutes later — it’s probably the longest 20 minutes of my life — McRaven comes back over the communications and says, “I think we have Geronimo.” Geronimo was the code word for locating bin Laden. We all kind of tensed up. There was a few more minutes — again, the longest in my life. And he comes back, and he said, “We have Geronimo,” which meant they had bin Laden. And they got bin Laden. They put him on the backup helicopter. They put all of the people back on the helicopters. They all got the hell out of there. They blew up the helicopter that was on the ground. That woke up the Pakistanis. We were worried that the Pakistanis might try to stop the helicopters, but they didn’t do that. We were able to get out in time. They made it back to Afghanistan, and I remember when the president made the announcement. And by the way, when I was at the White House, you could hear people outside the White House yelling, “USA! USA! CIA!” And I never forgot that. I thought that was just a moment where America really felt good about what had happened. And look, the fact is we sent a message to the world that nobody attacks the United States and gets away with it.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body data-rsssl="1"><p><strong>What were you thinking when you heard we got him?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: It was all of the work by all of those people involved in the CIA and in Special Forces, all of the sacrifice, all of the risks that were taken in order to do that mission. I suddenly felt all of this has really paid off. And you know what, it was a moment when I thought about the victims of 9/11 and their families. I really felt that those families are going to embrace this moment probably more than anyone else because we will have gotten the individual who killed their family member.</p> <figure id="attachment_49147" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-49147" style="width: 2382px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-49147 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404im_/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-AP_201583493084.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-49147 lazyload" alt="" width="2382" height="3000" data-sizes="(max-width: 2382px) 100vw, 2382px" data-srcset="/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-AP_201583493084.jpg 2382w, /web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-AP_201583493084-302x380.jpg 302w, /web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-AP_201583493084-603x760.jpg 603w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-AP_201583493084.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-49147" class="wp-caption-text">March 1969: Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare Robert H. Finch named Leon E. Panetta as director of the department’s Office for Civil Rights. Panetta, 30, has been serving as Finch’s special assistant for civil rights. (AP)</figcaption></figure> <p><strong>Few people have had as long and distinguished a career in public service as you have: member of Congress, White House chief of staff, head of the CIA, defense secretary. How did you first become interested in public service?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: Well, there wasn’t a lightning bolt. I wasn’t Saint Paul suddenly getting a lightning bolt out of the sky. It was really something that grew on me for several reasons.</p> </body></html> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/aM_KklJ_t2w?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Panetta-Leon-2017-MasterEdit.01_09_16_10.Still017-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Panetta-Leon-2017-MasterEdit.01_09_16_10.Still017-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> <figcaption class="achiever__interview-video-terms"> <span>Keys to success —</span> <a class="comma-item" href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/the-american-dream/">The American Dream</a> </figcaption> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>I’m the son of immigrants — Italian immigrants. And my parents used to always emphasize that it was important to give back to the country because of what the country had given them. I used to ask my father why he came all of that distance to this country, leaving family. It was a poor area of Italy, but he had family, he had people that he related to back there. Why would you do that? And I never forgot his response, which was that “The reason your mother and I came here is because we really believed we could give our children a better life,” which, in many ways, is the American Dream. So because of what this country gave them in terms of the opportunity to work hard and succeed and give their children a better life, they used to always emphasize the importance of giving back to the country.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/sRi2zkFyps8?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Panetta-Leon-2017-MasterEdit.01_17_42_14.Still002-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Panetta-Leon-2017-MasterEdit.01_17_42_14.Still002-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> <figcaption class="achiever__interview-video-terms"> <span>Keys to success —</span> <a class="comma-item" href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/passion/">Passion</a> </figcaption> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>When I served as a lieutenant in the Army, the experience of working with a broad cross-section of people from across the country — and that was the case in those days because of the draft. You had people from everywhere across the country that were part of the military — and the experience of working with them and finding that you really could come together on a common mission, in terms of duty to the country and accomplishing that mission and working together as a team, that really inspired me about the importance of really being able to work together to achieve a mission. And then, lastly, you know, John Kennedy as president, a young president, who said, “Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country.” That was really an inspiration. At that time, public service was really a higher calling, and I really felt that way.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p><strong>We’d like to ask about your grandfather. He was from Italy and lived with your family. What happened to him during World War II?</strong></p> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/vnbCcgVxFcQ?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Panetta-Leon-2017-MasterEdit.00_56_21_23.Still013-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Panetta-Leon-2017-MasterEdit.00_56_21_23.Still013-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>Leon Panetta: Yeah, I was very close to my <em>nonno</em>. That’s what we called grandfathers in Italian: my <em>nonno</em> and <em>nonna</em>. And my grandfather had come over in 1938. My grandfather was a big guy. He was over six feet. He had been in the Merchant Marines, and he sailed around the world in the old sailing ships. I remember now, when I went to Australia as CIA director and secretary of defense — and going to Sydney — that my grandfather used to talk about how beautiful Sydney was, and he went there in the old sailing ships and came to Monterey to visit my mother. He actually did some fishing in Monterey.</p> <p>And then the war broke out, and my grandfather was not allowed to go back to Italy. So the one thing he did — because both my parents were working in the restaurant; my father was the chef and my mother handled the cash register — and so my grandfather basically took care of me and my brother. My brother was a little older, so he was out running around in the neighborhood. We were in an Italian neighborhood, so everybody kind of took care of each other. But my <em>nonno</em> really took care of me. And he used to walk with me. He used to put me on his shoulders, and we’d go down to the ocean together. And then suddenly, because of the war, a decision was made that, because he was an alien and he wasn’t a U.S. citizen — it sounds a lot like the problems we’re having today — there was a decision made that he might be a threat to national security, and aliens like him might be a threat to national security, so that they were required to move inland. Now, they didn’t set up camps like they did for the Japanese, thank God. But the fact was that my grandfather had to move away from the family because of that requirement. And I was asking myself, as a young boy who loved my grandfather, my <em>nonno</em>, I said, “Why is this happening?” And my parents really didn’t have a good explanation. They were trying to figure it out as well. But I do remember driving with them and my grandfather to San José. And we were able to locate a boarding house in San José, where a lot of other Italians had to move to, and leaving him. And I can’t tell you the impact that that had on me as a young boy, leaving my <em>nonno</em>.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body data-rsssl="1"><p>I never forgot that experience. I guess it’s the first time, as a young boy, that you experience that something’s not right — that in this country, where you’re kind of growing up and enjoying life and going to school, and you have kids that you grow up with, you don’t really think about whether you’re different. The great thing about America, frankly, is that we all grow up together — but then suddenly, when something like that happens, not because there is any kind of security justification here, but it’s because you’re Italian and you’re an alien. It’s what happened with the Japanese, obviously.</p> <figure id="attachment_3623" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3623" style="width: 1680px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-3623 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404im_/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/120.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-3623 lazyload" alt="Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta addresses the Academy at the Top of the Hay on the first night of the Summit." width="1680" height="1120" data-sizes="(max-width: 1680px) 100vw, 1680px" data-srcset="/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/120.jpg 1680w, /web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/120-380x253.jpg 380w, /web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/120-760x507.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/120.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3623" class="wp-caption-text">2012 Academy guest of honor Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta addresses the Academy of Achievement at the Top of the Hay on the first night of the 50th-anniversary International Achievement Summit in Washington, D.C.</figcaption></figure> <p><strong>Are we making similar mistakes now?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: Yeah, I think we are. We are, I deeply believe — and it’s not only because I’m the son of immigrants, but I think we’re a land of immigrants. America’s a land of immigrants. I mean, my God, our forefathers were immigrants to this country. The pioneers were immigrants. We had immigrations from across the world.</p> <p><strong>What upsets you the most about what’s going on now?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: I think it is kind of turning our traditions and our legacies and our values on their head.</p> </body></html> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/qeyJAGFNyNA?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Panetta-Leon-2017-MasterEdit.00_20_41_23.Still007-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Panetta-Leon-2017-MasterEdit.00_20_41_23.Still007-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> <figcaption class="achiever__interview-video-terms"> <span>Keys to success —</span> <a class="comma-item" href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/the-american-dream/">The American Dream</a> </figcaption> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>Our fundamental value in this country is that we respect people because of who they are. There is a dignity associated with people, no matter where the hell they come from — whether they come from Italy or Ireland or Germany or Asia or Africa. Wherever the hell they come from, they’re human beings, and they deserve our respect, and they deserve the dignity of being a human being. And America has been great about that. We are a country that has welcomed immigrants. And it’s what’s made us strong. We are a strong country because of immigrants who have come to this country and now claim America as their land. We’re strong because of that. That’s what the Statue of Liberty is all about.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p>The Statue of Liberty basically makes the point that we are a nation that welcomes people to this country. And now my fear is that we’ve kind of turned that around. We’ve turned that on its head. Suddenly the values that I thought were so important to what makes America a strong country, we’re beginning, at the highest levels, to reject some of those values. I think that’s a bad mistake.</p> <p><strong>Are you talking about the travel ban on some Muslim countries, or the position on “dreamers,” the young people who were brought here as children?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: I’m talking about the travel ban. I’m talking about DACA and these young kids. They’re not guilty of anything. Maybe their parents did come here in an undocumented way, but why should the children, who are innocent, bear the penalties for the sins of their parents? That’s crazy. These kids are getting an education. They’re growing up in this country. They’re getting jobs. We have those kids in the military, who are serving in the U.S. Army, and they’re putting their lives on the line for this country. Are we suddenly going to make the decision to deport these kids? That’s crazy. That’s not what America’s all about.</p> <p><strong>You started your career in government as a Republican. You headed the Civil Rights Office in the Nixon administration. How did you learn that you no longer had that job?</strong></p> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/kHhYRjPizak?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Panetta-Leon-2017-MasterEdit.01_04_23_23.Still016-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Panetta-Leon-2017-MasterEdit.01_04_23_23.Still016-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>Because of the experiences we just talked about, I really got very interested in civil rights when I got out of the Army and went back to work for a U.S. senator from California, Tom Kuchel, who was a kind of progressive Republican. He came out of what we call the Hiram Johnson tradition, which was a progressive Republicanism reflected in people like Kuchel and Earl Warren and many others. And that’s what I was. I was basically a kind of progressive Republican. So I went back, and Kuchel was working with a lot of other progressive Republicans, people like (Jacob) Javits from New York, and (Clifford) Case from New Jersey, and a number of others. And they were working with Lyndon Johnson and Democrats on civil rights legislation. And I was asked by the senator to kind of staff him on that issue. So I worked on civil rights legislation, and we were able to pass some landmark bills as a result of that.</p> <p>So when Kuchel was defeated in a primary, and I’m looking for a job or deciding whether to come back to Monterey, I was offered a job in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare by Bob Finch, who was another moderate Republican, who became secretary of HEW in the Nixon administration. Because of my work on civil rights, I ultimately became director of the Office for Civil Rights, enforcing civil rights laws, particularly with regards to education, equal education. And a big focus of that obviously was on the South because children had been divided by race for almost 200 years. Black kids went to black schools, and white kids went to white schools, and that’s what <em>Brown vs. the Board of Education</em> was all about, was the decision that a separate education is inherently unequal.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/bkx7kum1Si4?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Panetta-Leon-2017-MasterEdit.00_42_00_24.Still010-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Panetta-Leon-2017-MasterEdit.00_42_00_24.Still010-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> <figcaption class="achiever__interview-video-terms"> <span>Keys to success —</span> <a class="comma-item" href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/courage/">Courage</a> </figcaption> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>I was required, as director of the Office for Civil Rights, to go into these school districts and make sure that they were breaking down the dual school system and taking steps to desegregate these schools. And we were making good progress. The problem was that Nixon had cut a deal with the South in what was called the “Southern strategy.”</p> <p>He was worried about Rockefeller when he was running for president — Nelson Rockefeller, who was a moderate Republican. So he cut a deal with a lot of the Southerners that he would back off of tough civil rights enforcement. They supported him. It’s called the “Southern strategy.” I was aware of that, but I really did not believe, when I became director of the Office for Civil Rights, that we would retreat on an issue as fundamental as whether or not we give children — young children — the right to an equal education.</p> <p>And also because Nixon himself had supported civil rights when he was in the Congress, when he was a senator. And he’s a Quaker, by religion. They believe in civil rights. So I thought, you know, “It’s going to be tough. We have this political deal, but at the same time, I think enforcing civil rights laws is the right thing to do.” So I was doing that. I knew there were political pressures to back off, but I continued to do it. And I kind of made that a very fundamental decision.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/1vk8nWOOhoI?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Panetta-Leon-2017-MasterEdit.00_22_16_28.Still008-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Panetta-Leon-2017-MasterEdit.00_22_16_28.Still008-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> <figcaption class="achiever__interview-video-terms"> <span>Keys to success —</span> <a class="comma-item" href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/integrity/">Integrity</a> </figcaption> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>I tell the students here at the Panetta Institute: “You may face this decision, which is a decision between whether you do what you believe is right — whether you do something that abides by your conscience — or whether you make the decision that you’re not going to abide by what’s right because you can advance your career.” A pretty fundamental decision that I think a lot of people have to face, and you have to decide, “What course do I take?”</p> <p>I remember talking to my wife about that, that I was worried that I was getting a lot of pressure, and I didn’t know whether it was going to result in my getting fired or whether I should capitulate. And I made the basic decision, “No, I’m going to stick to what I think is right. I worked on this legislation. I believe it’s right. I’ve got to do what’s right.” Now, part of that is the Jesuits at Santa Clara, who taught me about right and wrong. But part of it was just that gut feeling.</p> <p>I remember Tom Kuchel saying to me when I first went back as a legislative assistant — he brought me into the room, and we were just a couple of us. And he said, “You guys are going to be tempted. Understand that. This town tries to go at you to try to impact on my vote. But I want you to remember that we’re here to protect the rights of the American people and the rights of the people of California. And I also want you to remember one thing: when you get up in the morning, you have to look at yourself in the mirror.”</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p><strong>So what happened to your job with the Nixon administration?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: Remembering what Kuchel said, that you got to wake up in the morning and look at yourself in the mirror, which is about integrity, I continued to enforce it.</p> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/nIzY8Rt7Nnw?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Panetta-Leon-2017-MasterEdit.01_04_20_27.Still015-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Panetta-Leon-2017-MasterEdit.01_04_20_27.Still015-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>One morning, a newspaper lands at the door, and we open it up, and there’s an article that said, “Panetta has resigned as director of the Office for Civil Rights.” I hadn’t resigned, but that was what the article said. There had been some articles about some speculation about whether or not I would be fired because of civil rights, et cetera. But we continued to reject it. So I remember going to work, going to visit the secretary, Bob Finch, and saying, ”Bob, there’s an article in the morning paper that says I resigned, and we’re denying it because I haven’t resigned.” And he said, “Oh no, that’s the right thing to do. Keep denying it. It’s just one of these rumors that are out there.” I said, Fine.” So I continued to do my work. But then they had, as they do now, a press conference, daily press conference, with the press secretary to the president. It was Ron Ziegler at the time, working for Richard Nixon. Ziegler was asked, “What about this article that says Panetta has resigned?” And Ziegler said, “That’s correct; he has resigned.” And I looked at that, and I said, “What the hell? This basically means I’m fired.”</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p><strong>What impact did that have on you?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: Well, I think I was only about 27 or 28 at the time. You can see your political career going up in smoke, but more importantly, you also worry about your family. We had two kids. I think we had a third child on the way. So you worry about that. But at the same time, I remember getting up at a press conference at the time and saying, yes, I’d submitted my resignation, but I really wanted to urge the administration to continue the good work on civil rights enforcement.</p> <p><strong>Do you think the country’s attitude towards public service has changed since you began your career?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: I think it has changed. I think that it’s the reason we have this Institute for Public Policy, is because we’re concerned about young people being inspired to give back to the country, to provide public service. Our democracy depends on that. So I’ve always felt that our obligation as citizens of this country is to give something back to the country and to do everything you can to make sure that our democracy is strong, particularly in order to give our children that better life. I think that’s what public service, frankly, is all about. It’s about the American Dream. It’s about giving people a better life.</p> </div>    <aside class="collapse" id="full-interview">    <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p><strong>Let’s talk a little more about your family, and growing up in California. Can you tell us about your father? </strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: Well, my father was an immigrant to this country who didn’t have a hell of a lot of education. I think, at most, my father maybe went through a couple of grades of grammar school in Italy, if there was a grammar school. He probably went through a little bit of schooling, but most of his life was really dedicated to hard work. He fought in World War I and left his family to go to war and often used to describe how brutal war was. This was a battle in the Piave Valley, and I’ve never forgotten him describing that experience in those days, facing the Germans and being under an artillery barrage and trying to escape from that artillery barrage. He actually got wounded as a result of that and used to talk about that a lot. Anyway, he’d been through some tough times.</p> <p>He was the thirteenth in his family, and he had several brothers who came over to this country, like many other immigrant families. One brother, his oldest brother, Bruno, settled in Sheridan, Wyoming, and he then had another brother, who was actually close to him, named Tony, who settled here in California. The tradition, when you came over to this country, is that you visit your older brother first. So my mother and father went and visited his brother Bruno in Sheridan, Wyoming. They spent one winter in Sheridan, Wyoming, and my mother said, “I think it’s time to visit your other brother in California,” and they did.</p> <p>They made it to California, made it here to Monterey, and my dad opened a restaurant in downtown Monterey during the war. He worked at that job almost around the clock. You know, Monterey was a jumping town. They were catching a lot of sardines. We had the Cannery Row — which Steinbeck wrote about — was jumping in those days. But in addition to that, we had a military post called Fort Ord that was training young men from across the country for the battlefields of World War II. And the last stop was Monterey for civilization before you went to war. So you can imagine, a lot of soldiers going through Monterey.</p> <p><strong>Did you ever imagine, as a little boy in that restaurant, seeing all those soldiers, that you would be the secretary of defense one day?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: Not one iota did I think that, at that time as a young boy, that I would ever be secretary of defense! One thing I do remember is that my parents used to invite some of those young soldiers, particularly the Italian ones from New York, to our house for the holidays. And I remember, as a young boy, looking at them and thinking, “These guys are going to go to war.” And I never forgot that — particularly when I did become secretary of defense, and I had the responsibility to deploy our men and women into harm’s way. I always remembered back to looking at those young men who were celebrating Christmas with my parents and in just a few weeks would be either in the Pacific or in Europe fighting in a war.</p> <p><strong>Your father had strong ideas about cash and credit, didn’t he?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: My father believed you work hard, you earn money, and you spend it wisely. So he always used to pay for everything by cash. I remember getting a gasoline credit card for the first time. Those things were just coming out at the time. I got a gasoline credit card, and he was really angry that I had gotten a credit card. He said, “What the hell are you doing? Why don’t you just pay for it in cash?” He always believed in cash business. The restaurant in those days was all cash business, and he believed people pay in cash. That’s the way you’re supposed to do it. You’re not supposed to do it by credit. So he was a believer in the values of hard work. You earn what you work for and then you use it wisely.</p> <p><strong>Did that have any influence on you when you were trying to balance the budget of the United States?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: Yeah, it did as a matter of fact. My parents did not spend their money in crazy ways. They were very frugal in the way they handled it. They spent it wisely. They didn’t buy fancy things. My father made money in the restaurant. After he sold the restaurant, he bought the farm in Carmel Valley.</p> <p>Going back to your question about remembering him, I remembered getting up with him early in the morning, putting irrigation pipes out in the field. And I remember as those fruit trees — we had walnuts, but we also had some fruit trees — as those trees got older, he would pick peaches and apricots, and I’d hold the ladder for him, and he’d be whistling, really enjoying the work and the open air. I always remembered that. He really enjoyed the fruits of his work, the fact that not only those trees, watching those trees grow older, but also watching my brother and I grow older, and in many ways investing in our education — we’re the first kids in our family to go to college.</p> <p><strong>When you were elected to Congress, you earned a reputation for expertise in the federal budget and you later served as budget director in the White House. How did you become this expert on the budget of the United States of America?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: When I got elected to Congress and went back there, one of the things that I learned — and I also pass this on to our students — which is that knowledge is power. And if you’re a member of Congress and you know an issue better than anybody, that’s power. That’s power. The budget was an issue that very few members understood. It’s complicated stuff. The budget process is very complex. How you put budgets together, how you try to get them passed, what do all these numbers mean, et cetera. But I got very interested in that when I went back. I remember getting on the Budget Committee and really enjoying that experience of working on the budgets, because what the budget gives you is the opportunity to see the entire government, to see all the priorities that we spend money on, and to determine what our priorities should be. Frankly, as a member of Congress, understanding what are important priorities for this country and where you want to spend your resources is probably the most important responsibility you have.</p> <p><strong>When you were going through the budget, line by line, what surprised you about how we were spending our money?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: When you really look at this stuff and you go line item into every program in a department — which I did both as chairman of the Budget Committee, but I also did it as director of the Office of Management and Budget when Clinton appointed me to that job — you really do look at individual programs and whether they work or not. The one thing I found a lot were programs that were not working very well. It’s easy to pass new programs, but it’s very tough to make those programs deliver what they promise. And suddenly, when you pass a program, like a program for Head Start for kids, the idea behind that is great. You want to take kids and give them a chance to really succeed in education. But then when you see that some of those dollars are misspent and that they aren’t really accomplishing some of the things that they’re supposed to do, you suddenly become aware of the fact that you can create programs, but unless you really continue to oversee those programs to make sure that they’re working, to make sure that they’re delivering on what they should, then a lot of that money gets wasted.</p> <p><strong>The last time the United States balanced a budget was under you.</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: Yeah.</p> <p><strong>When you look at the trillions of dollars of debt the government is running up today, what do you think?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: Well, I am very discouraged by the fact that we sacrificed an awful lot to get a balanced budget — not only a balanced budget, but we had a surplus — and it took a lot of sacrifice. It’s not easy. These were hard decisions. If you’re going to do the right thing on the federal budget — trillions of dollars that are involved in the federal budget — and you’re going to try to discipline that budget, then you’ve got to deal with nondefense programs; you’ve got to deal with defense; you’ve got to deal with what are called entitlements, a number of programs that — like Medicare and Social Security and others — that provide benefits to people on an entitlement basis. By the way, it’s now two-thirds of the federal budget. And you’ve got to raise taxes. You’ve got to pay for that stuff. So we made tough decisions. I participated in every major budget summit that we had.</p> <p><strong>Why do you think it’s important that we pay down the national debt?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: I think it’s important that we discipline the debt and that we provide fiscal discipline at the federal level because frankly, if we don’t, if we continue to do things basically by borrowing money and by building up what we have now, which is about a $20-trillion debt, who bears the cost for that? Our children are going to bear the cost for that because that means we’re going to have extraordinarily high interest payments.</p> <p>If we stay on the course we’re on, interest payments on the debt are going to exceed what we spend in the defense budget. It’s going to be over $800 billion just on interest payments. What does that mean? It takes away our ability, our resources, to deal with whatever your priorities are. Whether your priority is defense or education or housing or protecting parks — whatever the hell your priority is — we will not have the resources to be able to invest in those priorities. So we’ll pay a price for that.</p> <p>And thirdly, it will undermine our economy. I don’t care where our economy is at that point, but ultimately, when you’re paying these high interest payments, when you’re losing the public investment part of our budget, it’s going to impact on our economy. You cannot have a strong economy — you cannot have strong growth in our economy — if we run these huge deficits.</p> <p>That’s the fact. So I’m very discouraged that, having balanced the budget and having achieved a surplus in the budget, having spilled a lot of political blood in the process of doing that, that within a few years that was thrown out the window and we are now back in high deficits with a huge debt. And we’re going to have to do this all over again because, frankly, our economy is not going to be strong unless we have fiscal discipline as part of it.</p> <p><strong>As OMB director, you were asked to put discipline in the federal budget. Then you were called on to do the same for the White House staff. What was it like to be the gatekeeper for President Clinton?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: Well, he appointed me OMB director — director of the Office of Management and Budget. And I enjoyed that job. We put together, to his credit, a very tough budget that included deficit reduction — almost $500 billion in deficit reduction. And I think, because of that budget and other budgets that we had worked on, that’s how we achieved that balanced budget. And I can remember at some point that — I think it was Al Gore, who was a classmate of mine in the Congress; he was vice president — came up to me and said, “Leon, the president’s thinking of appointing you as chief of staff. And I said, “Al, I think the operation of the White House is chaotic.”</p> <p>There was very little discipline. There was no clear chain of command. I’d go to meetings in the White House and there sometimes would be 30 or 40 people in those meetings, everybody talking, nothing coming out of it, no decision. There were a number of people — similar to what’s happened in this administration — of people who were appointed who had kind of these general titles: “consultant to the president,” “counselor to the president,” but they had no specific responsibilities. These were people who just basically walked into a meeting, said things, and then walked out and had no responsibility.</p> <p>So I said to Gore, I said, “I don’t think so. I don’t think I want that job. And Al said, “They really do need you to do that.” So the next thing I know, I’m being called up to Camp David and they invite me to a meeting at Camp David. And I fly up with the vice president and his wife to Camp David to go to the president’s cabin up there. And we walk in. I walk in and it’s Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, and Tipper Gore, and me. And I thought, “Boy, am I screwed,” as a result of that. I mean they’re going to come in hard for me to take the job of chief of staff.</p> <p>So the president says, “I really need you to take this job. I need you to provide that discipline.” And I said, “Mr. President, look, we’ve just passed your budget. We’re passing appropriations bills. It’s really an important legacy. Everything you’ve done on the budget is important. I think I’m really important to you as OMB director, to continue to work on that. And I think you need me more in that job as OMB director.” And I never forgot what he said, Bill Clinton. He looked at me, and he said, “You know, Leon, you can be the greatest OMB director in the history of the world, but nobody’s going to remember you if the White House has fallen apart!” I never forgot that.</p> <p>And I said, “All right, Mr. President.” I said, “I’ll do this, but I’ll do this only if I have your support. I need the support of Hillary. I need the support of the vice president. I really do need to have the support because there’s a lot that needs to be done.” So I remember going back to the White House. You wonder if you made the right decision, but I said, “Okay, I’m going to do this.”</p> <p>I went to my predecessor, a nice guy named Mack McLarty, and I said, “Mack, I need an organization chart for the White House.” And he thought about it, and he says, “You know, Leon, I don’t believe I have one of those.” I thought, “Oh man, am I in trouble!” So now I’ve got to basically put an organization chart together. Frankly, I relied a lot more on my military experience almost than anything. I started with an organization chart: chief of staff, deputy chiefs of staff, who’s responsible to who. I developed control over who went into the Oval Office, discipline there. I required everybody to come through me. I participated in every meeting so I knew what was going on. I really developed a lot of discipline within the White House. And to the president’s credit, the president wanted to do that. He knew that the White House was not operating well. So he was willing to give me the authority to be able to do what I felt needed to be done to move some staff people out. I got rid of all of these floating counsels to the president. I said, “We don’t need them. If they’re going to work in the White House, they have to have a specific responsibility so that I know that they’re doing what needs to be done.”</p> <p><strong>That doesn’t sound easy.</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: No, it’s not. It’s not easy.</p> <p><strong>You took some heat for it.</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: It’s not easy. It’s tough, particularly when you just kind of walk into the White House and all these people have developed their little areas of power. They’ve all tried to figure out how they could advance their own careers and their own egos. And suddenly, you’re walking in there as the chief law enforcement officer, and you’re trying to tell them what to do. There are a lot of knives out. I remember bringing my staff with me to the White House. I brought some key people with me because I wanted people to watch my back while all these knives were out. But I also realized that — and by the way, this is a question I often get about when you take over OMB or CIA or Department of Defense. How the hell do you make it work? And the key to it is that you really have to build a team that is working together. And I really do believe you have to be honest, honest with yourself about who you are, what your strengths and weaknesses are.</p> <p><strong>What are your strengths and weaknesses?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: I have experience in government. I know a lot of these issues by virtue of my own experience. I have the discipline to make sure that people are doing their job, and I don’t mind being honest with people. It’s not just a question of being honest with yourself. It’s being honest with others and having them understand that what you’re telling them is the truth and that once you do that, and once they feel like they’re part of a team — and by the way, the other key here is to set goals. Every job I’ve been in, I have set goals as to what I wanted to achieve. You set goals; you work with others to set those goals. They become part of a team to achieve those goals. Once you create that sense that you really are all part of a team, it’s amazing how people come together.</p> <p><strong>When you look at the White House now (2017) — the Trump administration — do you have any advice for the current chief of staff?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: The fact is, John Kelly, who’s obviously been named chief of staff, is a good friend. He’s a guy who worked for me at the Defense Department as my military aide. I know John very well. And John, when he was appointed to that job, called me and said, “What the hell do I do?” because he knew that it’s the kind of chaos we talked about, where people are running around, no chain of command, no order, and no discipline.</p> <p>And I said, “John, in many ways what you’re facing is very similar to what I faced in the Clinton administration. And you’ve got to do the following. You’ve got to establish a strong chain of command with you at the top. You’ve got to have strong deputies. You have to have staff people who are responsible to supervisors. You cannot just have people floating around. They’ve got to be reporting to people.”</p> <p>So you establish a strong chain of command. You have to establish a process of decision-making that follows an orderly process in the national security system and in the domestic policy system as well. How do you develop policy and options for the president so that those options are presented to the president and the president can make the decision? Because you’re facing a ton of crises, so you need to have a process to deal with that and present those options to the president.</p> <p><strong>Didn’t you once compare it to an emergency room?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: It’s triage. You’ve got to basically — you’re being hit by all kinds of crises. There’s a lot of blood all over the place — political blood all over the place — and you’ve got to deal with it, and you’ve got to put it in an order in order to confront it. You cannot just run around. If you don’t have that, then people all run around like chickens with their heads cut off.</p> <p>You cannot have chaos in the White House. You can’t govern by chaos. So you’ve got to bring some order to that, and you’ve got to stay focused. In the military, frankly, if you have a mission to take the hill and you’re suddenly taking incoming fire and there are all kinds of explosions going on around you, you’ve got to deal with that, but you’ve got to stay focused on the mission.</p> <p>It’s very true in the White House. You’re going to be dealing with all kinds of explosions going on, but you’ve got to stay focused on the mission. So the real issue is whether or not President Trump wants that discipline, whether he wants to abide by that. If he does, then you can get some order restored. If he doesn’t, if he makes the decision he is not going to be confined to any process — he’s going to basically do whatever tweeting he wants to do or say whatever he wants to say — then I think they’re going to continue to have some serious problems.</p> <p><strong>In the middle of all these crises, you’re really famous for your sense of humor and some pretty imaginative pranks. Is it true that you rode into the White House grounds on a horse, with the music from </strong><em><strong>Bonanza</strong></em><strong> playing, to surprise the president and first lady?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: Well, this was the Clinton White House, and I think what was happening was that the Clintons were going to leave on vacation, and we wanted to send them off. So Harold Ickes, who was one of my deputies — I had two great deputies: Bowles — Erskine Bowles — who was one of my deputies responsible for personnel and for scheduling, and then Ickes, who was responsible for working on issues and also working on political matters as well. Ickes suggested that we get some horses from the Interior Department Park Service — they’ve got a number of horses they use to watch the parks in Washington — and that we go riding because the Clintons were going to go to — I think it was either Montana or Wyoming. I can’t remember. They were going to — Rockefeller’s house, I believe it was, in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Anyway, so we thought doing the whole Western thing would be fun. So we all had cowboy hats, and we had jeans on and our boots, and we rode these horses up to the president and wished him well.</p> <p><strong>Did he laugh?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: Oh, he loved it. Are you kidding me?</p> <p><strong>Have you pulled any other pranks like that?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: Yeah, there’s probably some I can’t talk about. It’s really important — we’re talking about the White House, talking about these other things — but I think, particularly in the White House, that it’s very easy to lose sight of your humanity. Very frankly, when you lose sight of your humanity, it makes you less of a leader. So the ability to stay in touch with humanity, and being able to laugh, and being able to enjoy people and enjoy experiences, it’s that human part of what all of us are about. The ability to stay in touch with that, I think, is really important, particularly for presidents of the United States to stay in touch with the human side of life. It just makes them a better person. So we used to do all kinds of things with the president, and he enjoyed it. He and Hillary enjoyed social life. They had a lot of parties at the White House. We brought a lot of musicians to the White House. We had all kinds of great events and had a lot of fun.</p> <p><strong>Years later you were living here in California when you got a call from John Podesta, who was running the transition for President Barack Obama. And as he tells the story, he says he called you to ask if you’d be interested in running the CIA and got a cold silence.</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: That’s right! I came back, got the president re-elected, and then I decided it was time to come back home. And we did, and Sylvia and I started an institute for public policy, the Panetta Institute, and we really enjoyed it. We were working at it, trying to inspire young people to get involved in public life. I really did not think about even the possibility of going back to Washington. So I get this call, after Obama’s elected, from John Podesta, and he said, “We’re thinking about you for CIA director,” and there was this silence. And I said, “What the hell are you talking about?” because I’d worked on budgets, I’d worked on ocean issues. I was chairman of an oceans commission. I did some work on what was called the Iraq Study Group with Jim Baker, and Lee Hamilton chaired that group. We actually went to Iraq, and I really enjoyed that. But my background was really not in intelligence, although I’d been an intelligence officer in the Army. I said, “What’s this about?” and he said, “The president thinks that you can help restore the trust of the CIA.” I thought about that.</p> <p>I was still nervous about whether it was something that really was a good fit, but then, when the president called and made the point again that he really felt that I could restore the trust of it, and I said to the president, I said, “Look Mr. President, if I take this job, I am going to present you with the intelligence that you’re going to need to make some very tough decisions. That’s what the CIA is all about.” And I said, “I’m going to give you the truth whether you like it or not because I think it’s going to be very important that any decisions you have to make are based on the truth of what’s happening.” And he said, “That’s what I want. That’s what I want.”</p> <p><strong>In your tenure at the CIA, there were highs and lows, including one of the deadliest attacks ever made on the CIA — a suicide bomber killed seven CIA officers. How did you deal with that?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: Well that was a real blow, obviously. We were very involved in going after the leadership of Al-Qaeda. At that point, a lot of those leaders were located in Pakistan. We were looking at other sensitive parts of the world. But one of our main focuses, too, was trying to capture bin Laden. We had no idea where the hell bin Laden was. So we had, for the first time, an opportunity to try to get close to the person who was second in authority to bin Laden. The Jordanians came to me and said, “We think we’ve got a great agent who could work for you. He’s a doctor. And we think he can get access into the FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas),” which is the tribal area in Pakistan. And that was because Zawahiri, who was second in command to bin Laden, had some health problems — that “he would seek the advice of this doctor and that would help you locate number two in Al-Qaeda.” We thought that was great, so we set up a meeting in a place called Khost, Afghanistan.</p> <p>We had a number of officers there to vet this person, to make sure that this person could really do this job, and that we’d trust him. And so that person — they finally set up a meeting — and that person drove up in a car in this little compound in Afghanistan — Khost — which is near the border with Pakistan. The person got out of the car, and instead of getting out on the side that was closest to where people were, he got out on the other side. The security people immediately got around him, and they said, “Take your hands out of your garment.” And he wouldn’t do it, and they started to cock their weapons. At that point, he pulled the trigger on a suicide vest bomb that was very powerful.</p> <p>The explosion — I remember going there. You could see some of the remnants of that bomb almost 100 yards away. It killed seven of our officers and wounded a number of others. It was a real blow. I don’t think we had lost that many officers in one explosion since having one of the embassies blown up in Lebanon (1983).</p> <p><strong>The Monday after that bombing, you held a meeting at the CIA, and according to someone in the room, you said, “We’re in a war. We cannot afford to be hesitant. My approach is going to be to work that much harder and we’re going to beat those sons of bitches.” What was that like?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: Sounds like me. We were hit hard by that. You don’t realize how hard it is until you go to seven funerals and meet with the families of the people who have lost their loved ones. And yet, at the same time, every one of those families came up to me and said, “My loved one was doing what they love to do, and I want to make sure that you do everything possible to continue the mission that they were involved with.” When family members say that, you really do take that to heart. I remember going back and sharing that with people at the CIA, and everybody became that much more enthused about really making sure we went after bin Laden. That’s exactly what happened, is that there was even a greater commitment to seeing if we could find bin Laden.</p> <p><strong>While you were CIA director, the use of drones really escalated. While the drone has been an effective tool and taken out many militants, it’s also killed a number of civilians and is quite controversial. What do you think about killing from the sky in that way?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: When I became CIA director and I went to my predecessor, Mike Hayden, we talked about intelligence responsibilities and developing intelligence sources, et cetera, and then he looked at me and he said, “You know, you’re also going to be a combatant commander.” I said, “What the hell are you talking about?” and he described the operations that we were involved with. And I suddenly realized he was absolutely right. I was a combatant commander. We were using our capabilities to target Al-Qaeda’s leadership. And we were using something that was new and effective technology in war.</p> <p>Let’s understand that when 9/11 happens and our country is attacked by Al-Qaeda and 3,000 people are killed in this country, we went to war. We went to war to go after those who had attacked our country. We go after them in Afghanistan, but they eventually make their way and escape into Pakistan. So our enemy, people that are planning another 9/11-type attack, are operating in Pakistan. Normally, if you have an enemy, you can take an F-16 or a B-2 bomber and go and blow them up. You couldn’t do that in Pakistan because Pakistan wouldn’t allow us to do that. Or you take troops, Special Forces, and put them on the ground and go after people. Couldn’t do that either in Pakistan because they wouldn’t let us do it.</p> <p>So we have an enemy that’s planning an additional attack in this country. How do you go after them? You have to use the kind of technology that we have the ability to use, which is to target people and then to go after them. And we did it effectively. It is a precise technology. It is something that requires a tremendous amount of surveillance.</p> <p><strong>But there have been mistakes.</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: Of course. There are mistakes in war in a number of ways. People who are in combat make mistakes, but the issue is, “Are we responsible for protecting the people of this country or aren’t we?” Are we going to exercise that responsibility in a responsible way? The fact is, when we went after targets, we made it very clear we’re not going to fire if there are women or children in the line of fire, and we made that decision. It was very precise, and we did undercut the leadership of Al-Qaeda. Were there mistakes? Were there innocent people killed? You bet. But what if we had dropped an F-16 bomb on a compound? You don’t think there would have been collateral damage? You’re damn right there would have been collateral damage. If we had used a B-2 bomber to drop a bomb on a compound, it would have wiped out the whole village. Collateral damage? You’re damn right. But if you’re just using a single weapon to go after an individual, that’s a precise way to go after somebody who’s trying to kill Americans, and I think it was effective.</p> <p><strong>During your time in the Obama administration, you spent a lot of brainpower on Iran and their nuclear program, but there’s been a lot of criticism about the agreement that was negotiated. Was that the right deal?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: When you start with the fundamental fact that Iran is an adversary — and we shouldn’t lose sight of that — Iran is a troublemaker in the Middle East. Iran basically provides a support system for terrorism in the region. And I think Israel, the moderate Arab countries in that region, and the United States all recognized that Iran is an authoritarian government that is interested in creating instability in the Middle East and in supporting terrorism in the Middle East. They support Hezbollah. They support Hamas. They support terrorism in a number of continents across the world. So they’re not good guys, and as a matter of fact, a lot of the work we were doing, the operations we were doing at CIA, was targeting Iran to try to make sure that they would never get an atomic weapon, a nuclear weapon.</p> <p>So I think that having imposed those sanctions on Iran, having brought them to the negotiating table, I think that the United States could have been a lot tougher in terms of the other elements that should have been part of the deal. I think we should have used that deal to go after their support for terrorism and their development of missiles and other steps that they were taking. But at the same time, they were able to get a deal that, in the very least, postponed their ability to get a nuclear weapon and provided enough checks and balances in the process to make sure that that wouldn’t happen.</p> <p>I think, as a result of that, and the fact that there are other countries that support that deal, that we shouldn’t walk away from it, that we should continue to enforce it, and that we should continue to determine whether or not Iran is enforcing that deal as well. Because it’s a hell of a lot better, at this point in time, to try to make sure that Iran doesn’t get a nuclear weapon than just simply tearing up that deal and giving them a free ticket to develop a nuclear weapon.</p> <p><strong>While you were secretary of defense, President Obama threatened to take military action against the Syrian regime if it crossed the “red line” of using chemical weapons in its civil war. After you left the Pentagon and returned to California, President Assad of Syria did use chemical weapons. Congress, some of our usual allies, and public opinion opposed an attack on Syria, and President Obama chose a negotiated approach to Syria’s chemical weapons. In your opinion, should we have exercised the military option?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: I don’t think there’s any question, once the president drew that line, and I frankly thought it was the right line to draw. They have chemical weapons. These are weapons that are brutal, that violate international law, and I think it was important for the president to say, “We’re not going to accept the use of chemical weapons by Assad.” So I thought it was important. Anyway, once the president of the United States sets that line — that red line — that becomes the word of the United States of America. I think when that line is crossed, you have a responsibility to enforce that red line.</p> <p><strong>How damaging do you think it was to our credibility?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: I think the failure to enforce that red line and to not hit them as we should have at the point sent a terrible message, not only to our enemies that our word was not worth much, but it also sent a bad message to our allies as to whether or not our word could be depended upon. And that, I think, weakened the United States. I think, as a result of that, I wouldn’t be surprised if Putin read that message to become a lot more aggressive in going into the Ukraine and going into Syria and doing things that Putin did. So I think it is very important that when the United States — and particularly when the president of the United States establishes any kind of red line — and you could argue whether this was the right red line to establish, but once you do that, you have got to back it up.</p> <p><strong>You ran the Pentagon. You ran the CIA. Here we are in 2017. What are you most worried about when it comes to national security now?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: Look, I think we are living in a time when there are more flashpoints — in the world of 2017, the 21st century — more flashpoints, I think, than probably since the end of World War II. I think if you could compare it to anything, it’s probably that period in 1914. I think people ought to reread <em>The Guns of August</em>, Barbara Tuchman’s book about how world leadership failed to really come to grips with all of the crises that were going on that ultimately led to World War I because that’s what I worry about in today’s world.</p> <p>We’ve got flashpoints with — we’re still conducting a war on terrorism against Al-Qaeda, ISIS. We are dealing with failed states in the Middle East, in Syria, in Libya, and others, breeding grounds for terrorism. We’re dealing with Iran, which continues to be a threat. We’re dealing with North Korea and the possibility that they could develop an ICBM with a nuclear weapon. We’re dealing with Russia being much more aggressive, a whole new chapter of the Cold War. We’re dealing with China making territorial claims in the South China Sea. We’re dealing with cyber attacks. That’s the whole new battlefield of the future. We saw it happen during the election, but the reality is you could use cyber to paralyze a country.</p> <p>So there are a lot of flashpoints out there. And the real question is: Is the United States going to provide world leadership to deal with all of those flashpoints? I mean in recent years it’s been this attitude that somehow we fought wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; we need to kind of pull back from the world. Other countries in the world need to step up and deal with these problems. But the reality is that if the United States doesn’t provide leadership on these issues, nobody else will, and our national security will be threatened as a result of that. So this is a point where the United States has to provide world leadership, and my greatest concern right now is whether or not the United States is going to provide that leadership in a world that is facing an increasingly large number of dangerous flashpoints.</p> <p><strong>What worries you most about what’s going on now?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: I’m worried because I really believe that if the United States doesn’t provide that leadership, that our national security will be threatened. If the United States is not smart enough to provide strong leadership, that North Korea could very well develop an ICBM with a miniaturized nuclear weapon that could literally attack the United States of America. I’m worried that a Russia that senses weakness on the part of the United States could make the decision not just to go into the Ukraine but to go into other former Soviet Union states and try to assert control over those states. I’m worried about China, but most importantly, as I said, I’m worried about our enemies getting ahold of a cyber weapon that could literally paralyze this country. Those are all fears that involve the safety and the security of the United States of America.</p> <p><strong>You have said that you often say the Hail Mary to steady you when you’re worried about things. </strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: Yeah.</p> <p><strong>Do you pray a lot?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: You’re damn right I do! I’ve always found Hail Marys to be a great refuge when you’re facing tough decisions and crises of one kind or another. I believe deeply in my faith, and I have always found strength in that faith in these very tough situations. I really do believe in the power of faith having an impact on the course of things in this world, but I also know — there’s a great story that I tell that I think makes the point very well. A Jesuit told me this, about a rabbi and the priest who decided to get to know each other a little better. So they decided to go to events and decided that, by going to events, they could talk and they’d learn about each other’s faith. So they go to a boxing match, and just before the bell rang, one of the boxers makes the sign of the cross. And the rabbi nudges the priest and said, “What does that mean?” The priest says, “It doesn’t mean a damn thing if he can’t fight.” And I think that’s something we all need to remember, is that we can bless ourselves with the hope that things are going to be fine, but it frankly doesn’t mean a damn thing unless we’re willing to fight for it.</p> <p><strong>You were a Republican who became a Democrat, and for much of your career, you were described as a centrist. In these days of such extreme partisanship, is there hope for a vital center?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: Well, I worry about that. In my almost 50 years of public life, I’ve seen Washington at its best, and I’ve seen Washington at its worst. The good news is I’ve seen Washington work. I’ve seen Republicans and Democrats work together on issues. When I got elected to Congress, Tip O’Neill was the speaker; Bob Michel was the Minority Leader. They were willing to work together. Did they have their political differences? Of course, but they worked together on issues. And that’s how our democracy functions. That’s how we are able to govern and deal with the challenges that we face, is when people are willing to come together regardless of party, regardless of ideology, and work together, find compromise, and get things done. That is what the heart and soul of our democracy is all about.</p> <p>And today? I’ve never seen Washington as partisan, as divided, and as dysfunctional as it is today. The parties are in their trenches. They don’t want to come out of the trenches. They don’t want to work together on all of these issues that confront us, whether it’s the debt, whether it’s funding infrastructure, whether it’s immigration reform, whether it’s tax reform, all of these myriad important issues that need to be dealt with. So I think the great challenge we face is whether or not we are going to find the leadership to get back to a process of governing. I often tell the students here that in a democracy we govern either by leadership or by crisis. If leadership is there and willing to take the risk associated with leadership, we can avoid crisis.</p> <p><strong>What period are we in now?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: I think we’re in a period of crisis. And we’re depending on crisis. We govern by crisis. Congress doesn’t really want to do anything unless we’re almost ready to walk off a cliff, unless we’re in a deep crisis. And then they just kick the can down the road rather than solving it. So we’re governing by crisis. There’s a price to be paid for that. And the price is you lose the trust of the American people in our system of governing. If you want to know the lesson from the 2016 election, it’s the lesson of a lot of angry and frustrated people who felt that a dysfunctional Washington was not working for them, not dealing with the problems they were facing. And so, even though they had this rather bizarre candidate who had no experience, they decided to go with somebody that they thought could blow up things in Washington. That by itself is not going to solve these problems. You still need leadership.</p> <p><strong>Your father came to this country with 25 dollars and very little education. You rose to the top of the United States government. Do you think that version of the American Dream could happen again?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: I think we are at a point where we can take one of two paths as a country in the 21st century. I think one path is that we really could be an America in renaissance in the 21st century. We could have a very strong economy. We’ve got great creativity and innovation. I sit on the board of Oracle up in Silicon Valley. I’ve never seen so many bright ideas about things that could be developed for the future. I think we could teach our kids the skills they need for the 21st century. We could have an agile defense force. We could be a world leader. That could be the kind of America that we could have. Or the other choice is that we could be an America in decline, an America that is dysfunctional, that can’t govern, that depends on crisis, governs by crisis after crisis after crisis. And if that happens, I think our country, like empires throughout history, will slowly spiral down and will decline. So the real challenge is going to be: “What path do we take?” And the answer to that question rests on the leadership that we have because if leadership relies on those values that are important to what this country’s all about, then I think we can find the right path.</p> <p><strong>When you look back at all you’ve done, what do you think the keys to success were for Leon Panetta?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: I think that the key for me, in all the different jobs I’ve had and all the different challenges that I’ve faced, is a real sense that there is no such thing as the impossible, that you can always achieve what your goals are if you work at it, and if you’re committed to it, and if you believe in the fact that deep down this country is good. Deep down, the American people really want to do the right thing for themselves and for their families. If you can appeal to that sense of goodness and that sense of hope, you really can get things done. Our democracy can work. Our forefathers developed a system of government in which you really can serve the dignity of every individual and make their lives better. I just think if you believe deeply enough in what this country’s all about, you can get the job done.</p> <p><strong>How do you encourage young people — good people — to go into public service?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: Well, I saw it with my son when he ran for Congress. And now he’s a member of the House. He loves the camaraderie, he loves the collegiality of working with others, but he’s frustrated because there’s an unwillingness to deal with a lot of these issues. But they’re doing something about it. One of the things that has given me hope is that he is a veteran. He fought in Afghanistan. And there are a number of veterans that have been elected, both Republican and Democrat. And these guys are going back there and they’re saying, “Wait a minute. We fought for this country, and now we’re back in Washington and these people don’t want to solve problems. That’s not for me.” So there’s now a “solutions caucus” that my son is a part of, made up of about 22 Democrats, 22 Republicans. And they are beginning to work together on issues. I think that’s how things ultimately are going to change. This is not going to change from the top down. I wish it would. It would be better if the president and leadership of the Congress decided, “We’ve got to govern.” I’m not sure that’s going to happen, but I do think, from the bottom up, from these newer members that are getting elected and really are committed to trying to find solutions, that probably is what can save our democracy.</p> <p><strong>You spoke earlier about making an effort to preserve your sense of humanity in public service. What do you do to keep a sense of your own humanity when you’re not dealing with all these crises?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: I love to cook. I love music. I play the piano. My mother wanted me to be a concert pianist, and I decided that wasn’t quite for me, but I continue to enjoy music. I play classical music, but I enjoy all kinds of music. I enjoy good food. I enjoy life. I enjoy my wife and I enjoy my family. Those are all things that really make life worthwhile. Humor is very important and enjoying a good laugh is very important because I’ve often said, “If I didn’t have a sense of humor, I would have jumped into the Potomac a long time ago.”</p> <p><strong>Is there any particular piece of music that brings you peace, to play or to listen to?</strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: When I have a sense that things are screwed up, and I’m just not sure whether or not we’ll find an answer, the thing I do is usually sit at the piano, and I play a song by Beethoven called <em>Para Elisa (Für Elise)</em>, which is probably the most soothing music I can play for myself. Because it not only soothes your concerns, but there is a certain sense that for all the problems that are going on, life can be beautiful.</p> <p><strong>Thank you. </strong></p> <p>Leon Panetta: It was nice to talk to you.</p> </div>  </aside>  <div class="read-more__toggle collapsed" data-toggle="collapse" data-target="#full-interview"><a href="#" class="sans-4 btn">Read full interview</a></div> </article> </section> </div> <div class="tab-pane" id="gallery" role="tabpanel"> <section class="isotope-wrapper">  <header class="toolbar toolbar--gallery bg-white clearfix"> <div class="col-md-6"> <div class="serif-4">Leon Panetta Gallery</div> </div> <div class="col-md-6 text-md-right isotope-toolbar"> <ul class="list-unstyled list-inline m-b-0 text-brand-primary sans-4"> <li class="list-inline-item" data-filter=".photo"><i class="icon-icon_camera"></i>21 photos</li> </ul> </div> </header> <div class="isotope-gallery isotope-box single-achiever__gallery clearfix"> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.66052631578947" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-120280965.jpg" data-image-caption="August 3, 2011: President Barack Obama during a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington, D.C. Obama called on Congress to break its recess to end a row which has partially shut the Federal Aviation Administration and could cost taxpayers a billion dollars. With President Obama is Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. (JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)" data-image-copyright="US President Barack Obama (C) smiles dur" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-120280965-380x251.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-120280965-760x502.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.8" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-Friday-Evening-Speaker-172.jpg" data-image-caption="2014: Golden Plate Awards Council member Leon Panetta addresses the Academy delegates at the introductory dinner and symposium during the 51st annual International Achievement Summit in San Francisco, California. (© Academy of Achievement)" data-image-copyright="wp-Friday Evening Speaker 172" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-Friday-Evening-Speaker-172-380x304.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-Friday-Evening-Speaker-172-760x608.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.3356766256591" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-138960830.jpg" data-image-caption="February 14, 2012: China’s Vice President Xi Jinping (L) and Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta arrive to review a guard of honor before their meeting at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. China’s likely next leader, Xi Jinping said Beijing will take concrete steps to improve human rights as he admitted “there is always room for improvement.” (JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)" data-image-copyright="China's Vice President Xi Jinping (L) an" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-138960830-285x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-138960830-569x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.60789473684211" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-135718485.jpg" data-image-caption="December 13, 2011: U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta speaks to military personnel during his visit to Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti. Leon Panetta arrived in Djibouti for an hours-long visit during which he was to meet with President Ismael Omar Guelleh for talks on counterterrorism measures. (PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS/AFP/Getty Images)" data-image-copyright="US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta (C)" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-135718485-380x231.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-135718485-760x462.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.53947368421053" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Panetta-Leon-playing-piano-as-a-child-and-wedding-photo-COMBINED.jpg" data-image-caption="“As a boy, I was an accomplished pianist, even getting a pretty glowing review in the local paper when I was ten. Practicing wasn’t my favorite way of spending time, though. Sports won the day. I met Sylvia at a mixer in Santa Clara University, where I was a student, in 1958. We hit it off that evening and began dating regularly. We were married on July 14, 1962. I still wear the watch she gave me as an engagement present, and I’ve always left it set to California time.” Today, the Panettas live in Carmel Valley, California. They have three sons and six grandchildren." data-image-copyright="Panetta, Leon playing piano as a child and wedding photo COMBINED" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Panetta-Leon-playing-piano-as-a-child-and-wedding-photo-COMBINED-380x205.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Panetta-Leon-playing-piano-as-a-child-and-wedding-photo-COMBINED-760x410.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.66710526315789" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-Academy_141.jpg" data-image-caption="2012: Academy Platinum Patron Stanley Zax presents the Academy of Achievement’s Gold Medal to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and inducts him into the American Academy of Achievement during the 50th anniversary International Achievement Summit. The awards ceremony was held at the Hay-Adams Hotel in Washington, D.C. (© Academy of Achievement)" data-image-copyright="wp-Academy_141" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-Academy_141-380x253.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-Academy_141-760x507.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.2603648424544" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-AP_201583493084.jpg" data-image-caption="March 1969: Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare Robert H. Finch named Leon E. Panetta as director of the department’s Office for Civil Rights. Panetta, 30, has been serving as Finch’s special assistant for civil rights. (AP)" data-image-copyright="Leon Panetta" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-AP_201583493084-302x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-AP_201583493084-603x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.4990138067061" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Panetta-Leon-Worthy-Fights-book.jpg" data-image-caption="2014: <i>Worthy Fights: A Memoir of Leadership in War and Peace</i> by Leon Panetta and Jim Newton. Like his career, <i>Worthy Fights</i> is a reflection of Panetta’s values. It is also a testament to a lost kind of political leadership that favors progress and duty to country over partisanship. Leon Panetta calls them as he sees them in <i>Worthy Fights</i>. Suffused with its author’s decency and common sense, the book is an inspiring American success story, a great political memoir, and a revelatory view onto many of the defining figures and events of our time. (© Penguin)" data-image-copyright="Panetta,-Leon---Worthy-Fights-book" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Panetta-Leon-Worthy-Fights-book-253x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Panetta-Leon-Worthy-Fights-book-507x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.66710526315789" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-113252301.jpg" data-image-caption="April 28, 2011: (L-R) CIA Director Leon Panetta delivers remarks as Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, U.S. Army General David Petraeus, Marine Corps General John Allen, and Ambassador Ryan Crocker stand by in the East Room of the White House. President Barack Obama has tapped Panetta to succeed Gates at the Department of Defense, General Petraeus to be the next CIA director, Crocker to be the next U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, and General Allen to succeed Petraeus as commander of ISAF and U.S. forces in Afghanistan. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)" data-image-copyright="President Obama Makes Administration Personnel Announcements" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-113252301-380x253.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-113252301-760x507.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.59736842105263" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-112865606.jpg" data-image-caption="Vice President Joe Biden swears in Leon E. Panetta as the new director of the Central Intelligence Agency as Panetta's wife, Sylvia, holds the Bible at the CIA Headquarters on Thursday, February 19, 2009. (Photo by Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune/MCT via Getty Images)" data-image-copyright="PANETTA" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-112865606-380x227.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-112865606-760x454.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.8" title="Governor Jerry Brown joins Summit Chair Catherine Reynolds and Leon Panetta at the Achievement Summit." data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - Governor Jerry Brown joins Summit Chair Catherine Reynolds and Leon Panetta at the Achievement Summit.">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/181.jpg" data-image-caption="2014: Jerry Brown, Governor of California, joins Summit Chair Catherine B. Reynolds and Leon Panetta at the American Academy of Achievement’s 51st International Achievement Summit, held in San Francisco, California. (© Academy of Achievement)" data-image-copyright="181" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/181-380x304.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2015/12/181-760x608.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.72631578947368" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-51977889.jpg" data-image-caption="July 2, 1996: White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta points to a chart at the White House that shows the U.S. budget deficit dropping to $117 billion in 1996. Panetta said, "As you can see from the chart here, we began at $290 billion, which was the projected deficit that we faced when we came into office, and as a result of the plan we put into place, we brought it down to $164 billion in 1995. And we are now projecting — you may recall, we stated we were looking at probably a deficit that would range somewhere between $130 billion to $140 billion for '96. We are now looking at a deficit of $117 billion for Fiscal Year 1996. That represents, as I said, about a $173-billion reduction from when the president took office. The deficit has not just been cut in half; it has been reduced by almost 60 percent. This means that the deficit is going to decline four years in a row. And as the president has stated, and as all of us take pride in stating, this is the first time since before the Civil War that the deficit will have gone down four years in a row. The deficit is lower than at any time since 1981. And as a percentage of the economy, it is lower than any time since 1974, more than 20 years ago." (Photo credit: LUKE FRAZZA/AFP/Getty Images)" data-image-copyright="White House Chief-Of-Staff Leon Panetta points to" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-51977889-380x276.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-51977889-760x552.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.66184210526316" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-50473056.jpg" data-image-caption="1993: President-elect Bill Clinton and Vice President-elect Al Gore meeting with their National Economic Council: (front L-R) Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen, Commerce Secretary Ron Brown; (back L-R) Assistant to the President for Economic Policy Robert Rubin, Budget Director Leon Panetta, et al. (Photo by Steve Liss/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images) " data-image-copyright="Bill Clinton And Ron Brown And Lloyd Bentsen" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-50473056-380x252.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-50473056-760x503.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.5049504950495" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-50586539.jpg" data-image-caption="October 20, 1989: House Budget Committee Chairman Leon E. Panetta (D-Calif.) accompanied Bush on a walking tour to see damage in Santa Cruz, which is in Panetta’s district and was near the quake’s epicenter. Panetta, who has criticized Bush for lack of fiscal discipline on other issues, said Congress would find a way to finance the relief effort. He said “the damage figures are going up almost hourly” and might top $1 billion in Santa Cruz. But he added, “When it comes to this kind of emergency, we’re going to find” the money. (Photo by Dirck Halstead/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images)" data-image-copyright="Leon E. Panetta;George H. W. Bush" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-50586539-253x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-50586539-505x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.69868421052632" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-AP_255164705989.jpg" data-image-caption="July 1970: Leon Panetta, former director of the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, speaks to a general session of the 61st national convention of the NAACP in Cincinnati. Panetta resigned as director because of what he called “political pressures” influencing enforcement of civil rights laws. Panetta, a 31‐year‐old lawyer, has been a strong advocate of school desegregation enforcement since his appointment. (AP Photo/Gene Smith)" data-image-copyright="Leon Panetta" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-AP_255164705989-380x266.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-AP_255164705989-760x531.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.675" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-72366972.jpg" data-image-caption="November 1, 1985: Rep. Leon Panetta talking about the debt cap. After serving as executive assistant to the mayor of New York City, John Lindsay, Panetta returned to Monterey, where he practiced law until his election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1976. Serving his Central Coast district in Congress for 16 years, Secretary Panetta became a respected leader on agriculture, federal budget, ocean, and healthcare issues, and from 1989 to 1993, he chaired the House Budget Committee. Panetta won passage of the Hunger Prevention Act of 1988, Medicare and Medicaid coverage of hospice care for the terminally ill, and numerous measures to protect the California coast, including the creation of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. (Photo by Terry Ashe/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images)" data-image-copyright="Rep Leon Panetta talking about the debt cap" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-72366972-380x256.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wp-GettyImages-72366972-760x513.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.66710526315789" title="Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta addresses the Academy at the Top of the Hay on the first night of the Summit." data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta addresses the Academy at the Top of the Hay on the first night of the Summit.">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/120.jpg" data-image-caption="2012 Academy guest of honor Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta addresses the Academy of Achievement at the Top of the Hay on the first night of the 50th-anniversary International Achievement Summit in Washington, D.C. (© Academy of Achievement)" data-image-copyright="120" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/120-380x253.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/03/120-760x507.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.4" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/final-4-panetta-Feature-Image.png" data-image-caption="June 9, 2011: Leon E. Panetta, currently director of the Central Intelligence Agency, during his Senate Armed Services nomination hearing to be secretary of defense. (Photo by Scott J. Ferrell/Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images)" data-image-copyright="final-4-panetta-Feature-Image" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/final-4-panetta-Feature-Image-380x152.png [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2018/06/final-4-panetta-Feature-Image-760x304.png"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/WhatItTakes_panetta-256.jpg" data-image-caption="Leon E. Panetta" data-image-copyright="WhatItTakes_panetta-256" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/WhatItTakes_panetta-256.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2017/09/WhatItTakes_panetta-256.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.66578947368421" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Leon_Panetta_presents_Ehud_Barak_with_Defense_Department_Medal_for_Distinguished_Public_Service.jpg" data-image-caption="November 29, 2012: Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta presents Israeli Minister of Defense Ehud Barak with the Defense Department Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the highest honor that the Secretary of Defense can bestow a foreign leader, during a press conference at the Pentagon. (Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo)" data-image-copyright="121129-D-BW835-240" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Leon_Panetta_presents_Ehud_Barak_with_Defense_Department_Medal_for_Distinguished_Public_Service-380x253.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Leon_Panetta_presents_Ehud_Barak_with_Defense_Department_Medal_for_Distinguished_Public_Service-760x506.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.66710526315789" title="U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta greets the Director of the CIA, David Petraeus, at the 2012 International Achievement Summit in Washington D.C. Petraeus succeeded Panetta as CIA Director when Panetta moved to the Pentagon. (© Academy of Achievement)" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta greets the Director of the CIA, David Petraeus, at the 2012 International Achievement Summit in Washington D.C. Petraeus succeeded Panetta as CIA Director when Panetta moved to the Pentagon. (© Academy of Achievement)">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/pet0-012.jpg" data-image-caption="U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta greets the director of the CIA, David Petraeus, at the 2012 International Achievement Summit in Washington, D.C. Petraeus succeeded Panetta as CIA director on September 6, 2011. (© Academy of Achievement)" data-image-copyright="pet0-012" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/pet0-012-380x253.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/03/pet0-012-760x507.jpg"></div>  </figure>    </div> </section> </div> </div> <div class="container"> <footer class="editorial-article__footer col-md-8 col-md-offset-4"> <div class="editorial-article__next-link sans-3"> <a href="#"><strong>What's next:</strong> <span class="editorial-article__next-link-title">profile</span></a> </div> <ul class="social list-unstyled list-inline ssk-group m-b-0"> <li class="list-inline-item"><a href="" class="ssk ssk-facebook" data-gtm-category="social" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Shared Achiever on Facebook"><i class="icon-icon_facebook-circle"></i></a></li> <li class="list-inline-item"><a href="" class="ssk ssk-twitter" data-gtm-category="social" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Shared Achiever on Twitter"><i class="icon-icon_twitter-circle"></i></a></li>  <li class="list-inline-item"><a href="" class="ssk ssk-email" data-gtm-category="social" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Shared Achiever via Email"><i class="icon-icon_email-circle"></i></a></li> </ul> <time class="editorial-article__last-updated sans-6">This page last revised on July 18, 2018</time> <div class="sans-4"><a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/how-to-cite" target="_blank">How to cite this page</a></div> </footer> </div> <div class="container interview-related-achievers"> <hr class="m-t-3 m-b-3"/> <footer class="clearfix small-blocks text-xs-center"> <h3 class="m-b-3 serif-3">If you are inspired by this achiever’s story, you might also enjoy:</h3> <div class="centered-blocks"> <div class="isotope-achiever public-service public-service ambitious pursue-public-office play-music help-mankind extroverted curious " data-year-inducted="2002" data-achiever-name="Clinton"> <div class="achiever-block view-grid"> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/william-j-clinton/"> <figure class="ratio-container ratio-container--square bg-black"> <div class="lazyload box achiever-block__image" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/CLINTON-new-profile-square-190x190.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2018/01/CLINTON-new-profile-square-380x380.jpg"></div> <div class="achiever-block__overlay"></div> <figcaption class="text-xs-center achiever-block__text"> <div class="display--table"> <div class="display--table-cell"> <div class="achiever-block__text--center"> <div class="achiever-block__name text-brand-primary">William J. Clinton</div> <div class="achiever-block__known-as text-white sans-6">42nd President of the United States</div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="text-white achiever-block__text--bottom"> <div class="achiever-block__year sans-4">Inducted in <span class="year-inducted">2002</span></div> </div> </figcaption> </figure> </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="centered-blocks"> <div class="isotope-achiever public-service analytical resourceful join-the-military teach-others help-mankind pursue-public-office " data-year-inducted="2002" data-achiever-name="Kissinger"> <div class="achiever-block view-grid"> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/henry-kissinger-ph-d/"> <figure class="ratio-container ratio-container--square bg-black"> <div class="lazyload box achiever-block__image" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/kissinger_760_ac-190x190.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/04/kissinger_760_ac-380x380.jpg"></div> <div class="achiever-block__overlay"></div> <figcaption class="text-xs-center achiever-block__text"> <div class="display--table"> <div class="display--table-cell"> <div class="achiever-block__text--center"> <div class="achiever-block__name text-brand-primary">Henry A. Kissinger, Ph.D.</div> <div class="achiever-block__known-as text-white sans-6">Nobel Prize for Peace</div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="text-white achiever-block__text--bottom"> <div class="achiever-block__year sans-4">Inducted in <span class="year-inducted">2002</span></div> </div> </figcaption> </figure> </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="centered-blocks"> <div class="isotope-achiever public-service public-service racism-discrimination small-town-rural-upbringing spiritual-religious help-mankind pioneer " data-year-inducted="2004" data-achiever-name="Lewis"> <div class="achiever-block view-grid"> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/congressman-john-r-lewis/"> <figure class="ratio-container ratio-container--square bg-black"> <div class="lazyload box achiever-block__image" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/lewis_760_ac-190x190.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/04/lewis_760_ac-380x380.jpg"></div> <div class="achiever-block__overlay"></div> <figcaption class="text-xs-center achiever-block__text"> <div class="display--table"> <div class="display--table-cell"> <div class="achiever-block__text--center"> <div class="achiever-block__name text-brand-primary">Congressman John R. Lewis</div> <div class="achiever-block__known-as text-white sans-6">Champion of Civil Rights</div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="text-white achiever-block__text--bottom"> <div class="achiever-block__year sans-4">Inducted in <span class="year-inducted">2004</span></div> </div> </figcaption> </figure> </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="centered-blocks"> <div class="isotope-achiever public-service public-service ambitious athletic extroverted join-the-military write " data-year-inducted="2014" data-achiever-name="McRaven"> <div class="achiever-block view-grid"> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/admiral-william-h-mcraven/"> <figure class="ratio-container ratio-container--square bg-black"> <div class="lazyload box achiever-block__image" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/mcraven_760_ac-1-190x190.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/04/mcraven_760_ac-1-380x380.jpg"></div> <div class="achiever-block__overlay"></div> <figcaption class="text-xs-center achiever-block__text"> <div class="display--table"> <div class="display--table-cell"> <div class="achiever-block__text--center"> <div class="achiever-block__name text-brand-primary">Admiral William H. McRaven, USN</div> <div class="achiever-block__known-as text-white sans-6">Global War on Terrorism</div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="text-white achiever-block__text--bottom"> <div class="achiever-block__year sans-4">Inducted in <span class="year-inducted">2014</span></div> </div> </figcaption> </figure> </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="centered-blocks"> <div class="isotope-achiever public-service experienced-war-firsthand small-town-rural-upbringing ambitious athletic join-the-military " data-year-inducted="2012" data-achiever-name="Petraeus"> <div class="achiever-block view-grid"> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/general-david-petraeus/"> <figure class="ratio-container ratio-container--square bg-black"> <div class="lazyload box achiever-block__image" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/petraeus-new-profile-square-190x190.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/04/petraeus-new-profile-square-380x380.jpg"></div> <div class="achiever-block__overlay"></div> <figcaption class="text-xs-center achiever-block__text"> <div class="display--table"> <div class="display--table-cell"> <div class="achiever-block__text--center"> <div class="achiever-block__name text-brand-primary">General David H. Petraeus, USA</div> <div class="achiever-block__known-as text-white sans-6">Military Strategist</div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="text-white achiever-block__text--bottom"> <div class="achiever-block__year sans-4">Inducted in <span class="year-inducted">2012</span></div> </div> </figcaption> </figure> </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="centered-blocks"> <div class="isotope-achiever public-service experienced-war-firsthand racism-discrimination ambitious join-the-military pursue-public-office spiritual-religious " data-year-inducted="1988" data-achiever-name="Powell"> <div class="achiever-block view-grid"> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/general-colin-l-powell/"> <figure class="ratio-container ratio-container--square bg-black"> <div class="lazyload box achiever-block__image" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/powell_760_SQUARE-190x190.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/04/powell_760_SQUARE-380x380.jpg"></div> <div class="achiever-block__overlay"></div> <figcaption class="text-xs-center achiever-block__text"> <div class="display--table"> <div class="display--table-cell"> <div class="achiever-block__text--center"> <div class="achiever-block__name text-brand-primary">General Colin L. Powell, USA</div> <div class="achiever-block__known-as text-white sans-6">Congressional Gold Medal</div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="text-white achiever-block__text--bottom"> <div class="achiever-block__year sans-4">Inducted in <span class="year-inducted">1988</span></div> </div> </figcaption> </figure> </a> </div> </div> </div> </footer> </div> </div> </article> <div class="modal image-modal" id="imageModal" tabindex="-1" role="dialog" aria-labelledby="imageModal" aria-hidden="true"> <div class="close-container"> <div class="close icon-icon_x" data-dismiss="modal" aria-label="Close"></div> </div> <div class="modal-dialog" role="document"> <div class="modal-content"> <div class="modal-body"> <figure class="image-modal__container"> <div class="display--table"> <div class="display--table-cell"> <img class="image-modal__image" src="/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/achiever/leon-panetta/" alt=""/>  <figcaption class="p-t-2 container"> <div class="image-modal__caption sans-2 text-white"></div>  </figcaption> </div> </div> </figure> </div> </div> </div> </div> </main> </div> </div> <footer class="content-info main-footer bg-black"> <div class="container"> <div class="find-achiever" id="find-achiever-list"> <div class="form-group"> <input id="find-achiever-input" class="search js-focus" placeholder="Search for an achiever"/> <i class="icon-icon_chevron-down"></i> </div> <ul class="find-achiever-list list m-b-0 list-unstyled"> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/hank-aaron/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Hank Aaron</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/kareem-abdul-jabbar/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Kareem Abdul-Jabbar</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/lynsey-addario/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lynsey Addario</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/edward-albee/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Edward Albee</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/tenley-albright-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Tenley Albright, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/svetlana-alexievich/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Svetlana Alexievich</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/julie-andrews/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Dame Julie Andrews</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/maya-angelou/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Maya Angelou</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/frances-h-arnold-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frances H. Arnold, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/robert-d-ballard-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Robert D. Ballard, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/sir-roger-bannister-2/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir Roger Bannister</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/john-banville/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John Banville</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/ehud-barak/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ehud Barak</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/lee-r-berger-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lee R. Berger, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/sir-timothy-berners-lee/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir Tim Berners-Lee</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/yogi-berra/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Yogi Berra</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/jeffrey-p-bezos/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jeffrey P. Bezos</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/benazir-bhutto/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Benazir Bhutto</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/simone-biles/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Simone Biles</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/keith-l-black/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Keith L. Black, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/elizabeth-blackburn/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Elizabeth Blackburn, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/david-boies-2/"><span class="achiever-list-name">David Boies</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/norman-e-borlaug/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Norman E. Borlaug, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/benjamin-c-bradlee/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Benjamin C. Bradlee</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/sergey-brin/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sergey Brin</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/carter-j-brown/"><span class="achiever-list-name">J. Carter Brown</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/linda-buck/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Linda B. Buck, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/carol-burnett/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carol Burnett</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/george-h-w-bush/"><span class="achiever-list-name">George H. W. Bush</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/susan-butcher/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Susan Butcher</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/sir-michael-caine/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir Michael Caine</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/james-cameron/"><span class="achiever-list-name">James Cameron</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/benjamin-s-carson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Benjamin S. Carson, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/jimmy-carter/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jimmy Carter</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/johnny-cash/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Johnny Cash</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/william-j-clinton/"><span class="achiever-list-name">William J. Clinton</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/francis-s-collins/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/denton-a-cooley/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Denton A. Cooley, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/francis-ford-coppola/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Francis Ford Coppola</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/ray-dalio/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ray Dalio</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/olivia-de-havilland/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Dame Olivia de Havilland</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/michael-e-debakey-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Michael E. DeBakey, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/michael-dell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Michael S. Dell</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/ron-dennis/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ron Dennis</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/joan-didion/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Joan Didion</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/david-herbert-donald-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">David Herbert Donald, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/david-doubilet/"><span class="achiever-list-name">David Doubilet</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/jennifer-a-doudna-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jennifer A. Doudna, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/rita-dove/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Rita Dove</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/sylvia-earle/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sylvia Earle, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/elbaradei/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Mohamed ElBaradei</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/gertrude-elion/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Gertrude B. Elion, M.Sc.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/larry-j-ellison/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Larry J. Ellison</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/nora-ephron/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Nora Ephron</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/julius-erving/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Julius Erving</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/tony-fadell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Tony Fadell</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/paul-farmer/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Paul Farmer, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/suzanne-farrell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Suzanne Farrell</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/anthony-s-fauci-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Anthony S. Fauci, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/sally-field/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sally Field</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/lord-norman-foster/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lord Norman Foster</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/aretha-franklin/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Aretha Franklin</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/milton-friedman-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Milton Friedman, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/carlos-fuentes/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carlos Fuentes</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/athol-fugard/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Athol Fugard</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/peter-gabriel/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Peter Gabriel</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/ernest-j-gaines/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ernest J. Gaines</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/william-h-gates-iii/"><span class="achiever-list-name">William H. Gates III</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/leymah-gbowee/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Leymah Gbowee</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/frank-gehry/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frank O. Gehry</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/murray-gell-mann-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Murray Gell-Mann, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/carlos-ghosn/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carlos Ghosn</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/vince-gill/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Vince Gill</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/ruth-bader-ginsburg/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ruth Bader Ginsburg</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/louise-gluck/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Louise Glück</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/whoopi-goldberg/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Whoopi Goldberg</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/jane-goodall/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Dame Jane Goodall</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/doris-kearns-goodwin/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Doris Kearns Goodwin, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/mikhail-s-gorbachev/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Mikhail S. Gorbachev</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/nadine-gordimer/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Nadine Gordimer</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/stephen-jay-gould/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Stephen Jay Gould, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/carol-greider-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carol W. Greider, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/john-grisham/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John Grisham</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/sir-john-gurdon/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir John Gurdon</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/dorothy-hamill/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Dorothy Hamill</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/demis-hassabis-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Demis Hassabis, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/lauryn-hill/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lauryn Hill</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/sir-edmund-hillary/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir Edmund Hillary</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/reid-hoffman/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Reid Hoffman</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/khaled-hosseini/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Khaled Hosseini, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/ron-howard/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ron Howard</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/john-hume/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John Hume</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/louis-ignarro-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Louis Ignarro, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/daniel-inouye/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Daniel K. Inouye</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/jeremy-irons/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jeremy Irons</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/john-irving/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John Irving</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/kazuo-ishiguro/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir Kazuo Ishiguro</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/sir-peter-jackson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir Peter Jackson</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/donald-c-johanson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Donald C. Johanson, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/frank-m-johnson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frank M. Johnson, Jr.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/philip-johnson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Philip C. Johnson</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/chuck-jones/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Chuck Jones</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/james-earl-jones/"><span class="achiever-list-name">James Earl Jones</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/quincy-jones/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Quincy Jones</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/beverly-joubert/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Beverly Joubert</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/dereck-joubert/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Dereck Joubert</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/paul-kagame/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Paul Kagame</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/thomas-keller-2/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Thomas Keller</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/anthony-m-kennedy/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Anthony M. Kennedy</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/carole-king/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carole King</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/b-b-king/"><span class="achiever-list-name">B.B. King</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/coretta-scott-king/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Coretta Scott King</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/henry-kissinger-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Henry A. Kissinger, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/willem-j-kolff/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Willem J. Kolff, M.D., Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/wendy-kopp/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Wendy Kopp</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/henry-r-kravis/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Henry R. Kravis</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/nicholas-d-kristof/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Nicholas D. Kristof</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/mike-krzyzewski/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Mike Krzyzewski</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/ray-kurzwell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ray Kurzweil</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/eric-lander-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Eric S. Lander, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/robert-s-langer-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Robert S. Langer, Sc.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/richard-leakey/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Richard E. Leakey</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/leon-lederman-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Leon Lederman, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/robert-lefkowitz-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Robert J. Lefkowitz, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/congressman-john-r-lewis/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Congressman John R. Lewis</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/maya-lin/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Maya Lin</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/george-lucas/"><span class="achiever-list-name">George Lucas</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/paul-b-maccready-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Paul B. MacCready, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/norman-mailer/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Norman Mailer</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/peyton-manning/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Peyton Manning</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/wynton-marsalis/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Wynton Marsalis</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/john-c-mather-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John C. Mather, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/johnny-mathis/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Johnny Mathis</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/ernst-mayr-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ernst Mayr, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/willie-mays/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Willie Mays</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/frank-mccourt/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frank McCourt</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/david-mccullough/"><span class="achiever-list-name">David McCullough</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/audra-mcdonald/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Audra McDonald</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/admiral-william-h-mcraven/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Admiral William H. McRaven, USN</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/w-s-merwin/"><span class="achiever-list-name">W. S. Merwin</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/reinhold-messner/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Reinhold Messner</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/james-a-michener/"><span class="achiever-list-name">James A. Michener</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/marvin-minsky-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Marvin Minsky, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/mario-j-molina-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Mario J. Molina, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/n-scott-momaday-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">N. Scott Momaday, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/story-musgrave/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Story Musgrave, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/ralph-nader/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ralph Nader</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/peggy-noonan/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Peggy Noonan</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/jessye-norman/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jessye Norman</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/tommy-norris/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lt. Thomas R. Norris, USN</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/joyce-carol-oates/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Joyce Carol Oates</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/pierre-omidyar/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Pierre Omidyar</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/jimmy-page/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jimmy Page</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/larry-page/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Larry Page</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/arnold-palmer/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Arnold Palmer</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/leon-panetta/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Leon Panetta</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/rosa-parks/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Rosa Parks</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/suzan-lori-parks/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Suzan-Lori Parks</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/linus-pauling/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Linus C. Pauling, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/shimon-peres/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Shimon Peres</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/itzhak-perlman/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Itzhak Perlman</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/general-david-petraeus/"><span class="achiever-list-name">General David H. Petraeus, USA</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/sidney-poitier/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sidney Poitier</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/general-colin-l-powell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">General Colin L. Powell, USA</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/harold-prince/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Harold Prince</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/venki-ramakrishnan-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Venki Ramakrishnan, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/lord-martin-rees/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lord Martin Rees</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/lloyd-richards/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lloyd Richards</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/sally-ride-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sally K. Ride, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/sonny-rollins/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sonny Rollins</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/anthony-romero/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Anthony D. Romero</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/james-rosenquist/"><span class="achiever-list-name">James Rosenquist</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/pete-rozelle/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Pete Rozelle</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/bill-russell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Bill Russell</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/albie-sachs/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Albie Sachs</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/oliver-sacks-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Oliver Sacks, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/jonas-salk-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jonas Salk, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/frederick-sanger-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frederick Sanger, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/george-b-schaller-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">George B. Schaller, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/barry-scheck/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Barry Scheck</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/richard-evans-schultes-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Richard Evans Schultes, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/general-h-norman-schwarzkopf/"><span class="achiever-list-name">General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, USA</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/stephen-schwarzman/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Stephen A. Schwarzman</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/glenn-t-seaborg-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Glenn T. Seaborg, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/neil-sheehan/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Neil Sheehan</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/admiral-alan-shepard-jr/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Admiral Alan B. Shepard, Jr., USN</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/ellen-johnson-sirleaf/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ellen Johnson Sirleaf</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/carlos-slim/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carlos Slim Helú</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/frederick-w-smith/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frederick W. Smith</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/stephen-sondheim/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Stephen Sondheim</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/sonia-sotomayor/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sonia Sotomayor</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/wole-soyinka/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Wole Soyinka</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/esperanza-spalding/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Esperanza Spalding</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/martha-stewart/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Martha Stewart</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/admiral-james-b-stockdale/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Admiral James B. Stockdale, USN</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/hilary-swank/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Hilary Swank</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/amy-tan/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Amy Tan</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/dame-kiri-te-kanawa/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Dame Kiri Te Kanawa</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/edward-teller-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Edward Teller, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/twyla-tharp/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Twyla Tharp</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/wayne-thiebaud/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Wayne Thiebaud</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/lt-michael-e-thornton-usn/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lt. Michael E. Thornton, USN</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/clyde-tombaugh/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Clyde Tombaugh</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/charles-h-townes-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Charles H. Townes, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/david-trimble/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lord David Trimble</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/ted-turner/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Robert Edward (Ted) Turner</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/desmond-tutu/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Archbishop Desmond Tutu</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/john-updike/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John Updike</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/gore-vidal/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Gore Vidal</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/antonio-villaraigosa/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Antonio Villaraigosa</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/lech-walesa/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lech Walesa</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/herschel-walker/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Herschel Walker</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/alice-waters/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Alice Waters</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/james-d-watson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">James D. Watson, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/andrew-weil-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Andrew Weil, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/leslie-h-wexner/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Leslie H. Wexner</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/elie-wiesel/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Elie Wiesel</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/edward-o-wilson-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Edward O. Wilson, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/oprah-winfrey/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Oprah Winfrey</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/tom-wolfe/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Tom Wolfe</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/john-wooden/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John Wooden</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/bob-woodward/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Bob Woodward</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/shinya-yamanaka-m-d-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Shinya Yamanaka, M.D., Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/general-chuck-yeager/"><span class="achiever-list-name">General Chuck Yeager, USAF</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/andrew-young/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Andrew J. Young</span></a> </li> </ul> <div class="list__close"></div> </div> <div class="col-sm-6 col-lg-3"> <ul id="menu-footer-menu-col-1" class="menu list-unstyled"><li class="menu-item menu-item-has-children menu-our-history"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/our-history/">Our History</a> <ul class="sub-menu"> <li class="menu-item menu-about-the-academy"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/our-history/">About the Academy</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-academy-patrons"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/our-history/patrons/">Academy Patrons</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-delegate-alumni"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/our-history/alumni/">Delegate Alumni</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-directors-our-team"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/our-history/director-staff/">Directors & Our Team</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-golden-plate-awards-council"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/our-history/awards-council/">Golden Plate Awards Council</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-golden-plate-awardees"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/">Golden Plate Awardees</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="col-sm-6 col-lg-3"> <ul id="menu-footer-menu-col-2" class="menu list-unstyled"><li class="active menu-item menu-item-has-children menu-our-members"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/">Our Members</a> <ul class="sub-menu"> <li class="menu-item menu-the-arts"><a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/#filter=.the-arts">The Arts</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-business"><a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/#filter=.business">Business</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-science-exploration"><a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/#filter=.science-exploration">Science & Exploration</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-public-service"><a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/#filter=.public-service">Public Service</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-sports"><a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever/#filter=.sports">Sports</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-achiever-universe"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/universe/">Achiever Universe</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="col-sm-6 col-lg-3"> <ul id="menu-footer-menu-col-3" class="menu list-unstyled"><li class="menu-item menu-item-has-children menu-keys-to-success"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/">Keys to Success</a> <ul class="sub-menu"> <li class="menu-item menu-keys-to-success"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/">Keys to Success</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-find-my-role-model"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/find-my-role-model/">Find My Role Model</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-recommended-books"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/recommended-books/">Recommended Books</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="menu-item menu-item-has-children menu-the-summit"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/summit/">The Summit</a> <ul class="sub-menu"> <li class="menu-item menu-overview"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/summit/">Overview</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-summit-by-year"><a href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/summit#years">Summit by Year</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="col-sm-6 col-lg-3"> <div class="row"> <div class="menu-item-has-children"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://itunes.apple.com/us/institution/academy-of-achievement/id389592299" target="_blank"> More from the Academy </a> </div> <ul class="list-unstyled more-from-academy-menu clearfix"> <li> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/what-it-takes/id1025864075?mt=2" target="_blank"> <figure class="podcast clearfix"> <img class="podcast__image" src="/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/what-it-takes-square@1x.jpg" alt="What It Takes Podcast"/> <figcaption class="podcast__title"><div>Podcast</div></figcaption> </figure> </a> </li> <li> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://books.apple.com/us/author/academy-of-achievement/id511555796" target="_blank"> <figure class="podcast clearfix"> <img class="podcast__image" src="/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/itunes-u-square@1x.jpg" alt="iTunes U"/> <figcaption class="podcast__title"><div>Apple Books</div></figcaption> </figure> </a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </footer> <footer class="bottom-footer p-t-3 p-b-3 text-xs-center text-lg-left"> <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-lg-1 p-a-0"> <img width="95" height="92" src="/web/20200917235404im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/eagle-footer@2x.png" alt="Academy of Achievement"/> </div> <div class="col-lg-7 col-lg-offset-1 p-t-1"> <div class="serif-6 text-white">© 1996 - 2020 American Academy of Achievement. All Rights Reserved.</div> <ul id="menu-bottom-footer" class="menu list-unstyled menu-bottom-footer m-b-0"><li class="menu-item menu-underwriter"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/underwriter/">Underwriter</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-contact-us"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/contact-us/">Contact Us</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-frequently-asked-questions"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/frequently-asked-questions/">Frequently Asked Questions</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-privacy-policy"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/privacy-policy/">Privacy Policy</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-usage-policy"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/usage-policy/">Usage Policy</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </footer>  <div class="modal search-modal" id="searchModal" tabindex="-1" role="dialog" aria-labelledby="searchModal" aria-hidden="true"> <div class="close-container"> <div class="close icon-icon_x" data-dismiss="modal" aria-label="Close"></div> </div> <div class="display--table"> <div class="display--table-cell"> <div class="modal-dialog" role="document"> <div class="modal-content"> <div class="modal-body"> <form action="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/" method="get" class="search-form input-group"> <input autofocus type="search" name="s" id="search" class="form-control transparent-input serif-3 text-white" placeholder="Let us help you find something" autocomplete="off" value=""/> <button class="submit" type="submit"><i class="icon-icon_search"></i></button> </form> </div> <footer class="m-t-2"> <a class="sans-4" href="/web/20200917235404/https://achievement.org/achiever">View the full list of achievers</a> </footer> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <script src="/web/20200917235404js_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/dist/scripts/main-e23e5149de.js" id="sage/js-js"></script>  </body> </html>

CINXE.COM

Leon Panetta | Academy of Achievement