Defense Secretary Gates to speak at UW graduation

Defense Secretary Robert Gates will be the featured speaker this year at the University of Washington's commencement ceremonies.

Gates, 65, has been the top defense official since 2006, putting him in the somewhat unusual position of serving in the cabinet of both a Republican and Democratic president.

Before that, Gates spent 27 years in the intelligence community, working his way up to become director of the Central Intelligence Agency in 1991. He retired from that role in 1993, and began lecturing at colleges and universities. In 2002, he was named president of Texas A&M University, where he served until being tapped by President Bush to replace Donald Rumsfeld.

Gates also has served on several corporate boards, including those at Fidelity Investments, NACCO Industries and Brinker International.

He's been praised for helping turn around the situation in Iraq through a more cautious and pragmatic approach than Rumsfeld. He's also been criticized for his track record in the CIA, and for calling into question the effectiveness of NATO forces in Afghanistan.

About 4,100 graduating students and 39,000 family members and guests are expected to attend the UW's 134th annual graduation ceremony, which begins at 2 p.m. June 13 at Husky Stadium.

Nick Perry: 206-515-5639 or nperry@seattletimes.com