John Hamre was elected president and CEO of CSIS in January 2000. Before joining CSIS, he served as the 26th U.S. deputy secretary of defense. Prior to holding that position, he was under secretary of defense (comptroller) from 1993 to 1997. As comptroller, Hamre was the principal assistant to the secretary of defense for the preparation, presentation, and execution of the defense budget and management improvement programs. Before serving in the Department of Defense, Hamre worked for 10 years as a professional staff member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. From 1978 to 1984, Hamre served in the Congressional Budget Office, where he became its deputy assistant director for national security and international affairs. Hamre received his Ph.D., with distinction, in 1978 from the School of Advanced International Studies at the Johns Hopkins University, where his studies focused on international politics and economics and U.S. foreign policy. In 1972, he received a B.A., with high distinction, from Augustana College, emphasizing political science and economics. The following year he studied as a Rockefeller Fellow at Harvard Divinity School.