Francis J. Harvey

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Francis Joseph Harvey (born July 8, 1943) served as the 19th Secretary of the United States Army from November 19, 2004, to March 9, 2007, under President George W. Bush. He was born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, and earned a BS in Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science from the University of Notre Dame, and MS and PhD degrees in Metallurgy and Materials Science from the University of Pennsylvania.

Harvey spent most of his career in defense-related business and government work. He held leadership roles at Westinghouse from 1969 to 1997, served as a White House Fellow and assistant in the Office of the Secretary of Defense in the late 1970s, and participated in the Army Science Board in the late 1990s. He also held director and chairman roles with Carlyle Group portfolio companies Duratek and The IT Group, and served on several corporate boards.

As Army Secretary, he was the senior civilian official in the Department of the Army, overseeing manpower, installations, environmental issues, weapons and equipment acquisition, communications, and financial management, with a budget of about $98.5 billion and more than one million soldiers, civilians, and contractors.

Harvey announced his resignation on March 2, 2007, to take effect March 9, after being asked to step down by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, in the wake of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center neglect scandal. Gates said Harvey was a good man who had given distinguished service, but he did not take the problems seriously enough and wrongly blamed some noncommissioned officers. Harvey and his wife Mary have two sons and five grandchildren.