Daniel J. Murphy
Daniel Joseph Murphy Sr. (March 24, 1922 – September 21, 2001) was a four-star admiral in the United States Navy and later a government official under Presidents Carter and Reagan.
He grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and studied at the University of Maryland and the Naval War College. Murphy joined the Navy in 1943 while in college and flew anti-submarine patrols over the North Atlantic during World War II.
In the 1960s, he served as the commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS Bennington. He later commanded the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean during the Arab-Israeli War of 1973 and the Cyprus crisis of 1974. He retired from active duty in 1977.
Murphy’s son, Daniel J. Murphy Jr., also became an admiral and later commanded the Sixth Fleet (1998–2000).
In government service, Murphy was the principal military assistant to Secretaries of Defense Melvin Laird and Elliott Richardson. He was deputy director of the CIA in 1976–1977 and Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy at the Pentagon from 1977 to 1980 under President Carter. He then served as Vice President George H. W. Bush’s chief of staff from 1981 to 1985.
During this period, a covert team led by Vice Admiral Arthur S. Moreau Jr. sometimes operated from Murphy’s office. Some accounts indicate Murphy’s involvement in Iran-Contra-era activities.
After leaving government, he joined the Gray and Company lobbying firm (later Hill & Knowlton Worldwide) as a vice chairman, and later started Murphy & Associates in Georgetown to provide public affairs and consulting services. He helped arrange George H. W. Bush’s 1993 visit to Kuwait.
Murphy died in 2001 at age 79 from a stomach aneurysm in Rockville, Maryland. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 08:32 (CET).