The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs will host a Director's Lunch with Secretary Ray Mabus.
Secretary Mabus is serving concurrently as a Visiting Fellow at the Belfer Center and the Institute of Politics, Executive Fellow at the Harvard Business School, and Lecturer in Law at the Harvard Law School.
Mabus is the 75th United States Secretary of the Navy, the longest to serve as leader of the Navy and Marine Corps since World War I. Throughout his tenure, Secretary Mabus has focused on four key priorities - People, Platforms, Power and Partnerships – that enable the Navy and Marine Corps' unique ability to maintain the global presence that reassures our allies and deters our adversaries.
Leading the world's only global Navy, Mabus has traveled over 1.3 million miles, visited over 150 countries and territories and all 50 states, to meet with Sailors and Marines forward deployed or stationed around the world, to maintain and develop international relationships, and to reconnect the American public with the Navy and Marine Corps, which he calls “America’s Away Team.” He has traveled to Afghanistan on 12 separate occasions, in recognition of the sacrifice and service of Sailors and Marines deployed in combat zones.
In June 2010, as an additional duty, President Obama appointed Mabus to prepare the long-term recovery plan for the Gulf of Mexico in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Mabus’ report was released in September 2010 and met with broad bi-partisan support with most recommendations being passed into law by Congress as the Restore Act. Included in the legislation was a fund to aid in the Gulf Coast’s recovery by distributing 80 percent of any civil penalties awarded as a result of the damage caused by the disaster. To date, civil penalties total more than five billion dollars.
Before his appointment by President Obama, Mabus held a variety of leadership positions. From 1988 to 1992, Mabus served as Governor of Mississippi, the youngest elected to that office in more than 150 years. Mabus was Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 1994-1996 and later was Chairman and CEO of a manufacturing company which he led out of bankruptcy.
Secretary Mabus is a native of Ackerman, Mississippi and received a Bachelor's Degree, summa cum laude, from the University of Mississippi, a Master's Degree from Johns Hopkins University, and a Law Degree, magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School. After Johns Hopkins, Mabus served in the Navy as an officer aboard the cruiser USS Little Rock.
As space is limited for this event, RSVPs will be accepted on a first come, first served basis. Belfer Center Seminars are strictly off-the-record. By requesting to attend the seminar, you agree that you will comply with the Belfer Center's strict policy against recording or disclosing the contents of the seminar. Your access is conditioned on your compliance with these restrictions. Should you violate these rules, the Center will pursue all available legal options and you will be excluded from all future events.
