Dov S. Zakheim
Dov S. Zakheim | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 18, 1948 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, author, government official |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Known for | Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) (2001–2004) |
Dov S. Zakheim (born December 18, 1948) is an American entrepreneur, author, and former official within the U.S. government. He served in multiple capacities at the Department of Defense during the Reagan presidency. In 2000, Zakheim was a member of The Vulcans, a team of foreign policy advisors supporting George W. Bush's presidential bid. Between 2001 and 2004, he occupied the role of Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) as well as Chief Financial Officer for the Department of Defense.
Early life and education
Born in Brooklyn, Zakheim completed his secondary education at Yeshiva University High School in 1966. He graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in government from Columbia University in 1970 and earned a D.Phil. in economics and politics from the University of Oxford in 1974. He is Jewish and holds rabbinical ordination granted by Rabbi Shmuel Walkin.
Career
Zakheim began his tenure at the United States Department of Defense in 1981 after serving as principal analyst at the Congressional Budget Office. During the Reagan administration, he undertook several positions within the Defense Department, notably as Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Planning and Resources from 1985 to 1987. He played a significant role in terminating Israel’s fighter aircraft program, the IAI Lavi, promoting instead Israel’s acquisition of F-16 jets to better align U.S.-Israeli defense interests. In 1987, Zakheim transitioned to the private sector as corporate vice president at System Planning Corporation.
From 1987 through 2001, he led SPC International—a high-tech analysis subsidiary of System Planning Corporation—as its CEO. Concurrently, he provided consultancy services to the Office of the Secretary of Defense and contributed to influential defense committees such as the Task Force on Defense Reform (1997) and the Board of Visitors for Overseas Regional Centers (1998–2001).
Zakheim held adjunct faculty roles at institutions including the National War College, Yeshiva University, Columbia University, and Trinity College, where he was honored as a presidential scholar. Additionally, he served as an adjunct scholar at The Heritage Foundation and senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, authoring over 200 publications on defense topics.
He was among signatories of a letter addressed to President Bill Clinton regarding Iraq policy.
> During the 2000 United States presidential election, Zakheim contributed to George W. Bush’s foreign policy advisory group known as The Vulcans, led by Condoleezza Rice.
Bush Administration
In May 2001, Zakheim was appointed as Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) under President George W. Bush, a position he held until July 2004. His responsibilities included auditing Pentagon transactions valued at $2.3 trillion that lacked proper accounting records. He was instrumental in overseeing acquisitions, strategic planning, programming, and budgeting processes within the department. His successor was Tina W. Jonas.
President Bush named him to the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2008. Zakheim also served on the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission and currently holds a seat on the Congressionally-established National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology, appointed by Senator Jack Reed.
Zakheim retired from his role as senior vice president at Booz Allen Hamilton in 2010. He is currently a senior fellow at the CNA Corporation and acts as a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
His professional affiliations include membership in the Council on Foreign Relations, International Institute for Strategic Studies, United States Naval Institute, and Chatham House. He is also a fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences. Zakheim serves on editorial boards for The National Interest and Naval War College Press; he is vice chairman of the board of trustees for the Foreign Policy Research Institute, trustee at the American University of Iraq, and director on the board of the Atlantic Council. Additionally, he contributes to boards supporting the United States Naval Academy and regularly publishes articles in The Hill.
He has been honored three times with the Department of Defense’s highest civilian accolade—the Distinguished Public Service Medal—alongside various other governmental and community recognitions. Zakheim serves as co-vice chair of Global Panel America with Malcolm Rifkind.
His 2011 publication, A Vulcan’s Tale: How the Bush Administration Mismanaged the Reconstruction of Afghanistan, offers a critical examination of post-conflict rebuilding efforts under that administration.
In the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election, Zakheim joined more than 130 former Republican national security officials endorsing Vice President Joe Biden, declaring that President Donald Trump was unsuitable for another term.
Books
- Congress and National Security in the Post-Cold War Period (Nixon Center, 1998)
- Toward a Fortress Europe? (Center for Strategic and International Studies, 2000)
- A Vulcan's Story (Brookings Institution Press, 2011)
- Nehemiah: Statesman and Sage (Koren Publishers, 2016)
External links
- 1948 births
- Living people
- 21st-century American economists
- Alumni of St Antony's College, Oxford
- American chief executives in manufacturing
- American Orthodox Jews
- American technology executives
- Booz Allen Hamilton personnel
- Atlantic Council
- Business figures from Brooklyn
- Businesspeople in electronics industry
- Columbia College (New York) alumni
- Economists from New York (state)
- Foreign Policy Research Institute
- George W. Bush administration officials
- Jewish American government officials
- Naval War College Review contributors
- New York (state) Republicans
- Reagan administration officials
- The Heritage Foundation associates
- United States Department of Defense officials
- United States under secretaries of defense
- Booz Allen Hamilton people