Stephen Hadley - Education and Prior Government Service

Education and Prior Government Service

Hadley was born in Toledo, Ohio, the son of Suzanne (née Bentley), a homemaker, and Robert W. Hadley, Jr., an electrical engineer. He received a B.A. degree in government from Cornell University in 1969, where he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity, the Cornell University Glee Club, and the Quill and Dagger society. He later received a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Yale Law School and served as an officer in the United States Navy from 1972 to 1975.

Hadley has served in a variety of capacities in the defense and national security field, including as an analyst for the Comptroller of the Department of Defense from 1972–1974, as a member of the National Security Council staff under President Gerald Ford from 1974–1977, and serving from 1986–1987 as Counsel to the Special Review Board established by President Ronald Reagan to inquire into U.S. arms sales to Iran.

During the administration of George H. W. Bush, Hadley was, " Pentagon aide to Wolfowitz," serving as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Strategic Affairs from 1989–1993. In that position, he had responsibility for defense policy toward NATO and Western Europe, on nuclear weapons and ballistic missile defense, and arms control. He also participated in policy issues involving export control and the use of space. Hadley served as Secretary of Defense Cheney's representative in talks led by Secretary of State James Baker that resulted in the START I and START II Treaties.