Lehman, John Francis, 1942-

John F. Lehman, Jr. was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 14, 1942. He received a Bachelor's Degree in international relations from St. Joseph's College in 1964, and spent three years in the Air Force Reserves while attending Cambridge University. In 1968 he left the Air Force Reserves and accepted a commission of Ensign in the Navy, where he advanced to the rank of Commander. After serving on the National Security Council and as Deputy Director of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, he was president of Abington Corporation. Lehman was selected to be Secretary of the Navy on January 23, 1981, and remained in that post until April 10, 1987.

John Francis Lehman Jr. (born September 14, 1942) is an American private equity investor and writer who was secretary of the Navy (1981–1987) during the Reagan administration in which he promoted the creation of a 600-ship navy.[1]

Lehman is on the board of trustees for the thinktank Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI).[2] Lehman was also, from 2003 to 2004, a member of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, commonly called the 9/11 Commission, and signed policy letters produced by the Project for the New American Century. He was also an advisor to Senator John McCain for the 2008 presidential race,[3] and for Senator Mitt Romney in his 2012 bid.[4] Lehman was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, He graduated from La Salle College High School and received a B.S. in international relations from Saint Joseph's University in 1964, gained a B.A. from Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge (later elevated to an M.A.), and went on to earn an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. Lehman was in the U.S. Air Force Reserve for three years in Cambridge and in 1968 left the Air Force Reserve and joined the United States Naval Reserve as an ensign. He later rose to the rank of commander as a naval flight officer on the A-6 Intruder as a bombardier/navigator.[6] He was on the staff of the National Security Council under Henry Kissinger.[7]As the 65th secretary, appointed by Reagan in 1981, Lehman launched the idea of building a "600-ship navy".